


Energy

by Cartara



Series: The DP and MHA crossover works [1]
Category: Danny Phantom, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternatively the Trio Know Things and are undercover to Save The Day, Bakugou Katsuki Being Less of an Asshole, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Growth, Comfort, Crossover, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Making Friends, Mentor!Danny, Midoriya Izuku is a badass, Sam has the braincell, Strangers to Friends, The USJ Arch, Time Travel, Universe Travel, basically season 1 but with Spicey Flavor, everyone is bby, or:
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:46:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 46
Words: 62,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21693253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cartara/pseuds/Cartara
Summary: Danny only blinked at Clockwork before he pinched his nose, sighed, and waved in his direction. “So lemme get this straight: you want us to go to another dimension, pose as students, make sure the greatest secret isn’t exposed to anyone, literally fight one of the biggest threats in that world of that time, protect 17 kids while we’re at it, and do it all without being found out?”Clockwork merely nodded.“Seems reasonable. When are we leaving?”*_*_*_*_*When Clockwork tells Danny there's a possibility of them saving lives, who is he to say 'no'?
Relationships: Bakugou Katsuki & Midoriya Izuku, Danny Fenton & Midoriya Izuku, Danny Fenton & Tucker Foley & Sam Manson, Danny Fenton/Sam Manson
Series: The DP and MHA crossover works [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1690483
Comments: 324
Kudos: 987





	1. Travels

"Explain to me why we're doing this again?" Sam asked, irritated, as she looked at herself in the mirror, spinning around to inspect her new uniform. She didn't like it. The gray and green weren't the problem. It was the style of the garment. "Seriously? How short is this skirt. And why the socks and tie. Why."

"It's just the school's uniform, Sam," Tucker sighed as he struggled with the red fabric of the tie in his own dressing room. He groaned and threw it on the ground. "But the tie, I agree with you on that. It's impossible. Danny!?"

"Yeah?" he called from the next room over.

"Do you know how to tie a tie?"

"Nope."

"Great," Tucker mumbled as he picked the fabric back up and hung it around his neck again. "Anyway, besides that stupid thing, I'm all done. How about you guys?"

"Still wondering about the 'why', but yeah I'm done," Sam said as she walked out of her changing room and into the rest of the ClockTower, as they had dubbed it. Clockwork was off somewhere doing who-knows-what. She glared at Tucker as he let out a long whistle. "I will end you."

"What's going on?"

"Nothing!" Tucker squeaked out.

Danny slapped the curtain separating the room out of his way as he walked towards his friends. "Well, it's not what we're used to, but it'll have to do."

"It's the best of the best," Clockwork said as he teleported into the room, startling Sam and Tucker as he did. "These will make sure you will not stand out. Everyone there will be wearing these."

"But green shoulder pads, stripes, golden buttons? What kind of fashion disaster is that. The only thing I'm not hating is that I get to wear gray leggings under this ridiculous short green skirt."

"Now, settle down. These are mandatory clothes and you will be wearing these in the classroom. During training you get to wear either the sport uniform —which will be at the school— or your designed outfit you submitted a while ago," Clockwork said. "You should be worried about keeping the timelines intact, not about clothes." He shot a pointed look at the teens, who avoided his stern gaze. "Now, are you ready to make an appearance?"

"Shouldn't we make up alibis beforehand?" Danny asked. "I mean, we _are_ about to go into a new dimension with very little knowledge of what they're all like. The other students, I mean. And how exactly do you want us to get into a school without doing the Entrance Exam?"

"I made arrangements with the principal and the teachers of the school. They know about the situation and will be there if you need anything. If you _do_ need to contact me —only in emergencies— use the pager. There's only one, so don't _lose it._ If I see something going wrong, I will not hesitate to pull you right back out, understood?"

"And what about us? The two of us aren't... _fit_ to go there," Sam frowned. "We don't belong at the school. I thought we were going to be staying back at the house, wherever that is going to be."

Clockwork gave a reassuring smile and gestured for them to follow him to the main hall of the tower. "That will be taken care of while you travel."

"About that," Danny wondered aloud, "how are we going to get there?"

The doors to the tower opened, revealing three dark figures standing in the doorway. They walked in without saying anything, stalking closer to the four people in the room. Tucker and Sam subconsciously shuffled behind Danny and Clockwork as the three kept on moving closer. "Great One! You are already here!"

Danny visibly relaxed as Frostbite walked in, two other Yeti's at his side. "Frostbite! You're going to transport us?"

Frostbite held up the Infi-Map. "Not exactly."

Danny grinned as he took the map from the Guardian. He turned back to Sam and Tucker, who were grinning at him as well. "Let's hope we don't get sucked into the wrong dimensions again. Wouldn't want to get eaten by lions."

Frostbite shot a panicked look to Clockwork, who reassured him they were fine. Clockwork turned to three teenagers standing in his tower and silently hoped they would be fine this time as well. "Now, my sight on the dimension you're going to is limited, so I won't be able to watch your back in every single situation. There's more danger than you might be aware of at lest glance, so please. Tread carefully."

"Got it."

"Don't talk to strangers without reason."

The Trio rolled their eyes but smiled. "We won't be leaving the apartment without triple checking and the only reasons we'll be leaving are school, investigation and groceries," Sam listed off. She smiled smugly at her friends. "And I'll try to keep the boys in check."

Their sounds of protest went unheard as Frostbite laughed. "Good one, Samantha." He walked closer to the group and gave her a hug. "Please be careful."

"I will."

"Now," he said as he broke the hug, "do the boys need some affection as well or does a wave suffice?" He ignored their embarrassed excuses as he picked both of them up, earning yelps of surprise. "I bid you a good journey and a pleasant stay at your new home."

"Will do," Tucker said, clutching his stomach from being lifted suddenly.

"Oh, if you're already nauseous from that, this trip will not be pleasant."

"What..?"

"'Cuz!"

Danny fell onto the floor as Dani tackled him, laughing as she hovered over him. "Dani! I had no idea you were gonna be here!" he laughed as she helped him stand up again. He hugged her and held her at arm's length. "I haven't seen you in a while! Look at you. All grown up."

"It's been a few months, hasn't it?" she sadly smiled back. "Don't apologize, though, it's not your fault the Old Man had you going from here to there within a week."

"Excuse me?"

"I'll try to hack the pager," she whispered with a wink before grinning and bounding over to Frostbite. She waved excitedly at the three. "Bye!"

The purple hum of the map intensified as it unwrapped, grabbed the three teens and sped off towards the portal. Danny could only yell a "Bye!" before they were gone.

Clockwork and Frostbite looked at the disappearing Trio. "Do you think they're going to be alright?" Frostbite asked as he turned to Clockwork.

"Daniel will have to be the judge of that," he somberly said. "He is of greater influence than he thinks, but he's going to need allies to make sure he will succeed. His greatest strength is, after all, his ability to make alliances with the strangest of people. But, if he ends up in the wrong bonds all our work will go to waste..."

Frostbite nodded and signaled his men to get back into their vehicle. "You didn't tell him that, did you?"

"It would have a negative effect on the timelines. So no, I did not. It's better for everyone if it comes naturally to him. If I told him, he'd threat him...different. He does not need any more pressure on his shoulders. Taking care of the world is enough for now."

Frostbite hummed in agreement and put one hand forward. "I will see you soon, my friend."

"You too."

They shook hands and Frostbite stepped into his vehicle and left. Clockwork went back into his tower and looked into his orb. He didn't even flinch as the Trio landed in front of the school, a week before the first day of school. He smiled sadly as static overtook the orb, blinding him from the universe.

"Welcome to U.A. High School."


	2. New Home

The thing about the Infi-Map is that the further the trip, the faster the map moves. If it needs to go to an other place on earth, it'd be of a reasonable speed, taking about five seconds. Every single trip would take five seconds, no matter how far.

And when barriers between universes needed to be crossed...

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Tucker said immediately after they landed, slowly walked backwards, inching towards the bushes that were planted around the paved path that led to the main entrance.

While Tucker experienced the after effects of the travel and Clockwork's supposed ' _other plans_ ', Danny dusted himself off and helped Sam stand up, afraid she'd be caught by the surprise of the speed as well. "You okay?"

"F-fine..."

Danny kept his hand on her elbow for support and rolled the Infi-Map back up, and as he put it in his backpack, he looked over to where Tucker should be. "You alright over there?"

Tucker came waddling back to the other two, clearly not okay. "Fine for now, I guess." He stretched his back and laced his arms with Danny's for stability as he looked up. "Casper High is nothing compared to this."

"I guess you get that when you're the best hero school of the country," Sam said as she too looked up. "We should probably get inside though. We still need to talk to the principal and get to the house. And sleep. I'd like to sleep."

"If even you need sleep, that was one heck of a ride, huh?" Danny chimed in as he stood between his two best friends. He rubbed his side where Sam had elbowed him without looking at her. "Let's go." 

***_*_***

"Sir, there's three...students entering the building," Snipe said as he walked into Nezu's office. "They're dressed in the school uniform and didn't set off any alarms. Do you want me to activate security or approach them?"

"That will not be necessary, Snipe," Nezu replied as he put his cup of tea down. "They were expected. They are the three students I told the teachers about in the last meeting. I wish to speak to them before the school year starts. Could you give us a moment alone?"

Snipe seemed hesitant, but nodded nonetheless. "Of course, sir." As he opened the door, three surprised faces stared back at him. The girl quickly recovered, but still stared a bit. The boy on the right couldn't seem to close his mouth, and the boy in the middle slowly lowered his hand, as if it had been up to knock on the door. He gave a humored huff and walked past them. Interesting figures, to say the least. Though he was doubting if he'd heard Nezu correctly in the last meeting...

Danny glanced back at the western-looking hero and turned back to look into the office.

"You three may come in." They complied and watched how the principal hopped down from his chair and walked out to stand in front of the desk. "I'm going to grab the tea I left in the other room and shall return shortly. Please wait here."

As he disappeared into another room, Tucker couldn't help but snort. "The principal is a fursona."

Sam leaned back to poke him, avoiding Danny, who was standing in the middle. "Stop that! He's the principal! He's agreed to let us do this whole thing, so stop being disrespectful."

"Maybe don't say that where he is, Tuck," Danny added. "We don't know what he's capable of..."

"And he's nice," Sam huffed.

"Thank you, Miss Manson." Nezu walked back into the office and gestured for them to sit on the couch. He placed the tea on the table and sat down on the chair that stood in front of the couch. "Please, sit."

They sat.

"From what I've understood from your employer, I took the liberty to deduce you needed a place to stay for the time that you three will be operating here." He held a keychain in his hand(?) and handed it to Danny. "Be sure to keep it clean and not destroy the furniture, please."

"We will, Principal Nezu," Danny thanked him. "We're very grateful you let us come here."

"Well, the situation is dire. Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee your safety in this matter. You will have to watch each other's backs and keep each other safe. Now—" he handed them files— "these are your student files. The teachers are aware of your origin and reasons of being here, so they shouldn't form a problem. They know the bare minimum, however, and I am certain some will be more...hesitant than others. There will be questions.

"As you requested, you will be placed in the right class. You will have to convince the other students of your story. Two might be a problem."

"Shoto Todoroki and Momo Yaoyorozu. They got in on recommendation, right?" Danny asked as he looked up from his file.

"Correct. They will be sceptic, but not your main focus, of course."

Danny nodded and turned back to his paper.

Nezu was silent before finally asking, "If I may ask, what are your Quirks? It was the only information we couldn't fill in on the files."

Danny rubbed his neck. "Well, in our world, we don't exactly have those. These two here don't even know what their Quirks _are_. Clockwork said he'd arrange something during the travel, but we've only just arrived..."

Nezu nodded. "I see. Once you do find out, and I suggest you do before the first class, let us know so we can fill it in." He turned to Danny. "And what about you?"

"I'm...not sure of a name for it, yet, or if I even want to fill in the actual 'Quirk'. It might raise suspicion because of various reasons, and we can't, exactly, have that, so..."

Nezu took the files from them. "Agreed." He turned to Sam and Tucker. "Finding out what your Quirks are might be tricky, since public use of them is forbidden. We can offer the training grounds of the school as a possible place, but it might raise some questions with the people who catch sight of you, and possibly the media."

"I might have a solution," Danny spoke up. "A place where no one can come and no one can see us."

"By all means, if you have a spot, use it," Nezu said. "Now, go to the house and get some rest. You only have a few days until the year starts after all."

"Thank you, Principal Nezu," Sam smiled at him.

They left the school and headed in the direction the Infi-Map told them to go to. Danny made sure he triple checked the routes and seemed satisfied as they stood in front of three tall buildings.

"The middle one, with the two on it, right?" Sam asked as she tiredly walked towards said building. "I kinda wanna sleep for three days straight so a bed would be nice..."

"It is," Danny confirmed as he checked the label on the keys. "We're on the top floor."

They trudged through the gates surrounding the flats and entered the building. They took the elevator to the top floor and walked into the second apartment on the floor. After a quick scout of the apartment —a sitting room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, shower room, and three bedrooms— they decided they'd each take their own room. Clockwork had sent their clothes and other luggage to the apartment earlier by some sort of weird teleportation, so after a quick dental rinse and change of clothes, they all fell asleep.


	3. Class 1-A

"Tucker, hurry up!" Sam yelled angrily as she banged on the door of the bathroom. "I need my toothbrush before school, you idiot!"

"I'm kind of busy, Sam!"

Danny walked up to Sam sheepishly, holding up his tie. "Help?"

Sam rolled her eyes but took the red fabric with a smile. "You two need to learn to do this. I had to do Tucker's as well this morning," she said as she pulled the two ends towards herself. After tying it, she let it fall on his torso and gave him one last glance before going back to telling Tucker to "hurry op or I will come in there."

Danny hoisted his backpack on his back and checked their communicator a last time. Clockwork had only wished them good luck in the days that they've been there, and he was pretty sure Danielle had hijacked the device, since there were random hearts as well. Danny smiled at the red figures staring at him from the screen and pocketed the device.

He looked at the clock and panicked. "Guys, we only have a few minutes and we also gotta walk there. Hurry up."

The toilet flushed and Sam quickly went in there to grab her toothbrush. "One se'," she said as she ran around the apartment with her toothbrush in her mouth.

Tucker scrambled to put his PDA in his backpack as Sam darted around him last-second on her way back to the bathroom.

"How are you guys so uncollected in the morning?" Danny laughed as his two friends scrambled to put everything together.

"Well excuse me Mr. I've-Had-My-Quirk-For-Years," Sam said as she got out of the bathroom, "we've been on high alert for days straight while you were doing who-knows-what. You had years with that power of yours, we've had six days. Do you see where I'm going?"

"Dude, you're so lucky," Tucker groaned as he finally managed to zip his bag closed. He watched how Sam did it as well and turned back to Danny. He snatched the keys out of his hands and walked out of the apartment. "You had so much more time and you've actually had training. We were just messing around. Be glad we didn't blow anything up."

"Not that there was anything to actually blow up," Danny said as he joined them on the gallery. As Tucker locked the door, he continued, "But you guys knew what to expect."

Sam shoved him aside playfully and started moving towards the stairs. "Whatever. Whoever's last there's a rotten steak!"

Danny started running while Tucker let out exclamations of how she dared to make that comparison.

***_*_***

Sam tapped her foot on the ground impatiently, arms crossed as Danny and Tucker trudged through the gates. "Congratulations. I've been here for hours while you two couldn't even keep jogging. How are you going to explain that?"

"I'm not used to running like this," Danny panted, referring to his other form. "Last time I ran like this was when Dash and I got shrunk. Not. Funny." He glared at Tucker, who was laughing. "What?"

"You have an excuse, I'm screwed," he nervously answered, glancing at Sam carefully. "I'm gonna need more training..." he realized aloud, letting his head fall.

"Let's get moving," Sam merely said as she started walking to the entrance.

After eventually finding the classroom, they were a tad surprised. Of course, they had known physical appearances of people would change to fit their quirk, but this? There was a girl with _pink skin_ and _horns_. Someone with _six arms_ and someone with a _tail_. Danny blinked. He thought only the principal would be... _different._

He should've done more research.

There were a few "normal looking" people as well. Two guys with spiky hair, red and blond, were exchanging seemingly very funny things, and they were joined by someone who had weird elbows. A girl in the back row with one heck of a ponytail tried to get a boy to talk to her, but the duocolor-haired nearly didn't even bat an eye.

On the right side of the classroom, someone with blue hair was chewing out the spiky-haired blond that casually sat on the table. No one tried to get the strict-looking one to stop making chopping-motions with his hands and yelling.

"Is this normal?" Tucker hesitantly whispered.

"Not sure. Clockwork didn't tell me about this."

"Where is the teacher?" Sam piped up, worried for the order of the room. "Is he late?"

"Clockwork said he's never late. Class hasn't started yet," Danny deduced, also looking at the chaos. "We didn't even need to run..."

The door slowly opened, revealing Izuku Midoriya standing there. His eyes immediately went towards the two bickering students, and he seemed ready to turn right back around and leave.

After the blond one threatened Iida for assuming he thought he was better, they looked at Midoriya. "It's him."

Everybody's head turned towards the door, and Midoriya panicked. "Uhh... Hi!"

"Morning!" Iida announced as he walked up to him. "My name is Tenya Iida, from Somei Private Academy--"

"I know," Midoriya fearfully interrupted him. "I'm Izuku Midoriya. It's...super nice to meet you!"

While Iida praised Midoriya for figuring out there was more behind some earlier test, Danny leaned in towards Sam and Tucker. "We have to make sure it all goes smoothly and there's no trouble. First day appearances kind of shape the class and we need to make sure the right groups exist."

"Then we don't intervene and everything will turn out right, right?" Tucker asked.

"Not sure," Sam muttered. "I mean, because we're here, three people didn't make it into this class."

"Clockwork made sure they weren't the most important ones," Danny reassured them, though he couldn't help but feel a bit guilty at that. "Though we need to be careful and not stand out too much."

"Hey I recognise that messy hair!" In the doorway stood a short girl with brown hair. Izuku seemed to space out as she praised him for doing so well on the test. He stuttered awkwardly, trying to hide his red face.

As they held a conversation, the spiky haired blond that Iida was chewing out earlier glared at the duo. He seemed lost in thought as his frown deepened.

"What do you think we're going to be doing today beside Orientation? And what about the teachers? I can't wait to meet everyone!"

"If you're here to make friends you can pack up and leave."

Behind the girl, in the hallway, lay a man in a yellow sleeping bag. "Welcome to the Hero Course." He unzipped the top part of the bag and sipped soda from a straw. As the students stared at the man, he got out of the yellow thing, revealing a mostly black outfit. He wore a gray scarf that was wrapped around his neck at least four times and a simple black t-shirt with black pants. "Took you too long to shut up, that won't do. Time is precious, rational people would understand that."

His tired eyes scanned the classroom. "Hello, I'm Shota Aizawa, your teacher."

Aizawa ignored everyone's gasp of surprise as he rummaged through his yellow sleeping bag. He took out a uniform and showed it. "Put these on and head outside."

"Where the hell did he get that from?" Tucker whisper-shouted. "Are we sure this is normal!?"

"Relax, Tucker," Sam sighed, "it's probably just fine."

" _Probably_!?"

As everyone followed Mr. Aizawa to the locker rooms, the Trio lingered back. "So much for making an impression," Tucker sighed as he stretched.

"What do you think we're going to be doing?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Danny admitted. "But I don't think it's going to be just a light exercise..."


	4. QAT

"What? A Quirk Assessment Test?"

"What about Orientation? We're going to miss it!" the girl from earlier exclaimed.

"If you want to be big later on, you can't waste time on little ceremonies. Here at U.A. we're not so strict about traditions." Aizawa turned his head around to look at the students. "That means I can run this class how I see is fit." Turning around to face the class fully, he continued. "All you ever took were standardized tests. You never had the chance to use your Quirk in Physical Exams before. The government still wants everyone to believe everyone is created equal, making sure the most powerful can't excel. One day they'll learn."

He turned towards the student with the spiky hair. "Bakugou."

Danny drowned out Aizawa's questioning and looked at the boy. He didn't seem impressed by everything going on or him being called forward to try first. Danny knew all about him. Clockwork had told him he'd be someone to watch.

So he did. Danny watched as Bakugou stretched his arm and put fire behind the ball when he threw it to make it go further. Everyone seemed shocked, but Danny wasn't phased. As Aizawa showed the distance, most students almost couldn't believe it.

"Wow, 705 meters? I can't believe it! Are you kidding me?"

"That seems fun! I wanna go."

"This is what I'm talking about! Using our Quirks as much as we want? Sign me up!"

"Fun?" Aizawa questioned. "Do you think it's all gonna be playtime, the three years you have here to become a hero? Idiots." His face seemed to become dark as he smirked. "Today you will compete in eight physical tests. Whoever comes in last will be expelled without further notice."

Now _that_ sentence shocked Danny. He saw that Midoriya seemed particularly nervous. The boy started visibly sweating and panicking. He flinched as Aizawa repeated he was in charge of how the class was going to go, and it only freaked him out more.

"You can't send us home. We just got there! Even if it's only the first day. It's not fair!"

"And a natural disaster is fair?" Aizawa said. "Or power hungry villains? No. The world is filled with unfairness. It's a hero's job to fight against that. If you want to become a hero, you need to overcome that. In the next three years, U.A. will throw hardship after hardship at you, and it is your job to work through those. So go beyond. Plus Ultra."

Danny nearly snorted as Aizawa mumbled the school's motto with regret.

"Show me you deserve to be here."

Everyone seemed to tense up and focus.

"Now," Aizawa grinned. "Let us begin."

***_*_***

The 50 meter dash was up first. Danny watched how Iida sprinted over the finish like a mad-man, followed closely by a girl that seemed to hop over the finish. Next up were the girl Midoriya had talked to earlier and the boy with the tail.

He was a bit flabbergasted as someone shot by, using a laser to fly towards the finish. He didn't make it all the way to the other side and flopped down halfway. "Using my beautiful beam for more than one second hurts my tummy," he explained to the bystanders after he _did_ finish.

The pink-skinned girl he raced against looked at him weird.

Aizawa seemed to be watching intently, saving all the information in his head for later.

Midoriya and Bakugou were up next. Bakugou put his arms backwards and propelled himself forward using explosions. He turned back to look at Midoriya, who had his hands on his knees, panting. Midoriya seemed to get sucked up by anxiety even more as he stared at the ground.

Danny felt sorry for him, but when a sudden look of determination crossed his face, Danny couldn't help but cheer a little inside.

They cruised through the other tests. During the grip strength, the standing long jump, and the repeated side steps nothing wild happened. But when they got to the ball throw...

"Infinity!"

The girl —Uraraka, as Danny had learned— turned around, smiling. "No biggie!"

Midoriya was up next. He stared at the ball in doubt, thinking of a strategy. Danny could nearly feel the fear radiating of the boy and wished he could help in any way.

"If he doesn't shape up soon he's going to be the one going home."

Bakugou looked at Iida weird. "Of course he's the one going home, he's the Quirkess loser here!"

Iida was caught by surprise. "Or course he has a Quirk! Didn't you hear what he did at the Entrance Exam?"

Aizawa stared at the boy in the circle, bored, expecting him to throw the ball using his Quirk, breaking his whole arm again.

Midoriya moved his arm back, the whole limb glowing pink and orange, as if lightning coursed through it. Time seemingly slowed down, though Danny wasn't sure if it was his imagination or Clockwork doing something. Whatever it was, they wanted him to see it.

He released the ball and Danny expected it to break through the atmosphere, but he was surprised as the ball came back down only a few meters away from the circle.

Midoriya seemed distraught and froze. "What..." he managed to whisper out. "But...I tried to use it..."

"I erased it."

Aizawa's scarf expanded and floated around him while his hair started hovering. The Trio couldn't help but let out a low whistle at the fancy garment before understanding the situation. "He erased it?" Sam asked to Danny. "Is it coming back?"

"The judges weren't rational when they let you in," Aizawa said to Midoriya. "Someone like you shouldn't be here."

"Wait you did wha—" Midoriya started, but he suddenly backed up a bit at seeing something. "Wait. Those goggles! I know you! You can look at someone and cancel out their Quirk! You're the Erasure Hero, Eraserhead!"

"Eraser? Who's that?" The question came from somewhere in the group.

Danny ignored the speculations coming from the group and turned towards the school building, where he could clearly sense someone watching. The bulky man in the yellow suit was looking at the duo having a stand-off, and despite his facial expression being stuck in a smile, he seemed...almost worried.

"You're not ready if you don't have control over your power. Were you trying to break your arm again? Having someone else help you?"

Midoriya tried to protest, but he was grabbed by Eraserhead's scarf and pulled towards the man. "No matter what your goals are, you're a reliability, just like another grotesque hero I know." He glanced at the school building. "He saved a lot of people at once and became a legend, but with that drive..." He looked back at Midoriya. "If you can only throw one punch before breaking down, I see no way you can become a hero."

His scarf retracted and his hair fell back down. "I returned your Quirk. One more throw. And hurry it up."

"Damn, he's really into that creepy vibe," Tucker shuddered. "Is he even fit to be a teacher?"

"Not sure," Danny said as he watched how Midoriya gripped the ball in his hand harder. "But I think he needed the lash-out. It's a good drive, being told you're not good."

"Speaking from experience, I presume?" Sam rolled her eyes.

"Maybe."

Tucker and Sam shared a look at his dry answer. They were worried for their friend. Ever since they had gotten here, Danny had seemed...distant. Or worried, they weren't sure. But whatever it was, they ne—

A rush of air interrupted their thoughts. After the dust settled, they watched how Midoriya clenched his right fist together, and with tears in his eyes, he looked at Aizawa. His index finger was completely purple, but he didn't seem particularly distraught, almost as if he had known this would happen.

"Mr. Aizawa, you see--" he grinned victoriously and clenched his hand into a fist, and breathed out to steady himself-- "I'm still standing."


	5. Power

While all their classmates stood astounded by Midoriya's throw, Bakugou was shocked. The Quirkless loser he knew suddenly had power?! This couldn't be happening. He had to stop this! "Hey!" he yelled as he charged forwards, towards him. "Deku! Tell me how you did that!"

Midoriya was panicking. He couldn't defend himself against Kacchan! How was he supposed to def—

Bakugou couldn't even reach Midoriya before he was stopped by Aizawa's scarf. "How is this damn thing so strong," Bakugou managed to grit out.

"It's a capture weapon, made out of a titanium alloy and carbon fiber," Aizawa answered him. "Stand down. I suggest you make me stop using my Quirk so much." His eyes were red and his hair started floating again as he glared at Bakugou.

"You're wasting my time." Aizawa let his scarf retract so that it was around his neck again, and his hair fell back down. "Whoever's next can go now."

Midoriya moved around Kacchan in a wide circle, back to the rest of the class, where Uraraka started inspecting his hand with a worried frown.

Danny could almost feel the hatred Bakugou radiated towards Midoriya and made a mental note to tell Sam and Tucker about it later. He had known beforehand that the explosive boy would be trouble, but the others hadn't. Clockwork had told him more since he was kind of the leader of the operation, and he wanted to make sure his friends didn't worry about something they didn't need to worry about. But with that amount of disgust directed toward one person?

To say the least, Danny was growing anxious.

***_*_***

Midoriya let himself fall on the ground on his back, exhausted by the tests. Danny quickly told Sam and Tucker he'd be gone for a minute before casually walking over to Midoriya, who was just starting to look at his finger.

"Hey."

Midoriya looked up. "Oh, uh, hey."

"Does it hurt?" Danny asked as he crouched down besides him.

Midoriya sat up as well, holding his right wrist with his left hand. "Not that much. I guess I still have a long way to go before I'm ready to be a hero, haha..."

Danny nodded and pointed at himself. "My name's Daniel Fenton, but you can call me Danny."

"O yeah, you and those other two are those American exchange students, right?" Midoriya smiled at him. "I'm Izuku Midoriya. Nice to meet you."

"So...what's your Quirk?" Danny casually asked.

Midoriya obviously panicked as he started rambling about how he didn't know the name and only found out about it recently and hadn't had enough practice yet because he only just found out about it, but how he did have someone he trained with who knew more about it and could help him and—

His face heated up as he saw Danny's humored expression. "I was rambling, wasn't I..?"

"Don't worry, I do that too," Danny reassured him as he got up. He put his left arm forward and pulled Midoriya up as well.

"Time for the results."

Midoriya swallowed and walked besides Danny to where the rest of the class was standing. Forming half a circle around Aizawa, they looked as he pulled out his phone. "I've ranked you from best to worst, though you probably have an idea of where you are already. I'm pulling up the whole list instead of going over each and every single one, there's no time for that."

A holographic projection of the scores appeared between the students and Aizawa.

Danny came in as 11th, Sam one spot below him. Tucker hadn't done all too well, and came in as 19th. He sighed in relief, but tensed as he saw who had come in last.

The Trio turned their heads towards Midoriya, who obviously having a mental breakdown. Danny got it, though. He only barely got in and thinking he was getting thrown out on the first day? That had to be rough.

"And I was lying, nobody's going home."

Danny kind of felt bad for Midoriya, whose eyes were wide as saucers. Danny knew about it, obviously, but he still felt bad. Tucker and Sam also didn't know and seemed mad.

"Rational deception. To make sure you did well on the test," Aizawa grinned at the class.

"Can't believe you didn't figure that out," the girl with the black ponytail said. "I thought you knew. Maybe I should've told you..."

"Maybe!?"

"That's all for today. Pick up a syllabus in the classroom and read it over before tomorrow. Class dismissed," Aizawa said as he walked away from the class.

"Midoriya." Said teen jumped a bit as a paper was handed to him. "Take this and get the lady to fix you. Prepare for tomorrow; the _actual_ training."

Midoriya nodded at Aizawa before the teacher vanished behind the corner. He let out a sigh of relief and stared at the paper. He was going to have to prepare himself for the next day if he wanted to succeed...

The Trio met back up and headed towards the classroom.

"He's a creep," Tucker deduced. "An actual creep that find pleasure in seeing us panic like that. Did you see that grin he gave at the end!?" He shuddered at the mere thought.

"He's not bad."

The two boys looked at Sam.

"I'm just saying he's not the worst," she quickly added. "His mannerisms are weird, yes, but he's not a bad teacher. He motivated us, right? Maybe not in the right way, but still."

"I agree with Sam on this one, Tuck," Danny sighed. "He's alright. But we're going to talk to him soon enough. We got that meeting with Principal Nezu and the other teachers soon, so we'll hear more then."

***_*_***

Midoriya felt like crap. After the healing Recovery Girl had given him, he was so tired he felt like he could sleep for years.

The hand on his shoulder startled him, and he turned around to find three exchange students look at him. "H-hi!"

"So, what do you think of Mr. Aizawa's little stunt yesterday?" Danny asked as they started to walk.

"Cheap trick if you ask me," Tucker mumbled. "Completely wrong."

"I-I think he was trying to just...motivate us, right?" Midoriya squeaked out, afraid of the reaction of the boy he didn't know the name of. "He was trying..."

"That's what I said!" the girl exclaimed to her friends. "He's weird, but he's trying."

"Hey! Wait up!" A girl came running towards them.

"You're the infinity girl from the QAT, right?" Tucker asked as she skidded to halt in front of them.

"That's me!" she beamed at him. "Ochaco Uraraka! I don't know all your names, but you're Deku, right? Midoriya?"

Midoriya froze. "Deku?"

"That's what Bakugou called you, right? During the fitness test."

"Well, my name's actually Izuku, but he calls me Deku to make fun of me..."

"I didn't know, sorry..." She deflated. She quickly started smiling again. "But it makes a great hero name! Sounds kinda cute."

"Deku it is!"

Confusion took over the group, but they quickly moved on from the topic as Iida joined them. Introductions were made and the six of them started walking to their homes.

Midoriya seemed surprised that two streets away from his house, the trio still hadn't left his side. "Uh...aren't you supposed to go to _your_ houses?"

"We are," Danny said. "We live together in an apartment, just a few streets ahead. It's not a big house or anything, but it's big enough."

"And it wouldn't happen to be that one, right?" Midoriya asked, pointing to his building.

"That's the one," Tucker confirmed. "Middle building, top floor, second apartment."

Midoriya suddenly beamed at them. "Hope you're ready to be ambushed by my worried mother when you enter the gallery."

Nezu was a very smart, very sly, and _exasperating_ creature.


	6. Fate

On the way to school the next day, the trio found Bakugou standing in front of the gates, looking at them. Todoroki was next to him, also looking at them. The two didn't seem to notice they were both waiting on the Trio, but when they both tensed because they saw them coming...

"What the hell are you doing here, Half 'n Half?" Bakugou hissed.

"Same as you, apparently."

"You know," Sam said as she came to a halt in front of the boys, crossing her arms, "if you have a problem with us, you can just tell us to our faces."

Bakugou turned to face Sam and stared her down. "What makes you think there's a problem, vegan?"

Danny grabbed her arm before she could slap him and expertly moved to stand in front of her, looking at Bakugou. "Excuse her, she's sensitive about those things. Anyway. Bakugou and Todoroki, right? What's up?"

"I wanted to talk about how you got into U.A.," Todoroki said, ignoring Bakugou's hurt expression at being interrupted. "Is it true you got in on recommendation?"

"Yeah, what he said," Bakugou huffed. "I'm not buying it."

"Shame," Tucker shrugged. "It's true. Principle of the last school we were on applied us here and we got in. We did the exam thingy in America, hence Todoroki didn't see us at the on of this school." The story they had made up last-minute seemed logical coming out of Tucker's mouth with such nonchalance, and Danny relaxed at seeing Todoroki nod and Bakugou huff.

"Whatever," Bakugou said before walking into the school.

"I'm sorry for doubting your story," Todoroki apologized as he gave a little bow. "Fenton, Foley, Manson, I admire your patience."

"Dude, don't worry," Tucker smiled at him. "And please, call me Tucker."

"Sam."

"Danny. The last name thing is really not needed. We're your peers, not superiors."

Todoroki gave a small smile back. "You Americans are very weird. But I shall call you as you wish."

***_*_***

"I. Am. Here!" All Might yelled out as he posed in the doorway. "Coming through the door like a hero!"

"He's kind of full of himself," Tucker snickered to Sam, who was sitting in front of him. She merely nodded back at him as All Might paraded forwards until he was standing in front of the class.

"Welcome to the most important class!" All Might announced. "Think of it as hero-ing 101. This class will teach the basics of being a Pro Hero. To fight in the name of good. For today's class..." He grabbed a card out of seemingly nowhere that said "Battle". "We're not pulling punches."

Bakugou seemed completely down with the idea of combat training as he grinned at the teacher.

Danny shot a quick look at Midoriya, who sat in front of him. He seemed tense about the idea, but hyped nonetheless.

"But one of the most important things of being a hero is looking like one!" All Might pointed to the wall, where the compartments containing the suits came out of. In the walls were cases with numbers on them, 20 in total. "Costumes based on your Quirk and the form you filled in earlier!"

"We're getting our costume!" someone exclaimed excitedly.

"Put these on and head to training ground Beta!"

"Yes sir!"

***_*_***

"Clothes make the pros, ladies and gentlemen," All Might said as the students walked into the urban-looking arena. "Take this to heart, form now on, you are all Heroes in Training!"

The class came to a halt in front of him and All Might couldn't help but fawn a bit over the costumes they had put together. Ranging from multi-colored bodysuits to silver-looking metal, everything was there.

"Shall we get started? When you're ready, it's time for combat training!"

"Sir!" Iida spoke up as he raised his hand. "This is the fake city from the Entrance Exam. Are we going to be doing the same thing?"

"Not quite, young man," All Might answered. "Most of the villain attacks you see happen outside. But, statistically speaking, the chance of an indoor attack are big! Backdoor transactions, secret lairs, name it! Smart villains stay in the shadows."

He looked over the group. "You will be split in duo's of both good guys and bad guys. A two-on-two indoor battle."

"Isn't this a little advanced?" Danny recognized the girl who asked. She was the frog-girl that competed against laser-guy during the QAT.

"The best experience is gained in the field! But remember, you're not punching a machine this time. You're dealing with people —your classmates, even."

"Are you going to be judging who wins?"

"How much can we hurt the other team?"

"Will there be the chance of someone getting exploded again?"

"Sir what will be paired on?"

"Isn't this cape _chique_?"

All Might cringed at the amount of questions. "I wasn't finished talking." He took a small book from somewhere and opened it. "Listen up. This is the script: A group of villains had a missile hidden somewhere in their hideout. The heroes must try to foil their plans. To do so, they must either capture the villains or recover the bomb. The villains win if time runs out for the heroes or they are captured."

"Sounds like the first Doom DLC to me," Tucker grinned to Danny.

Tucker's costume was gray and looked like a tuxedo. The tie was bright yellow, contrasting heavily with the black blouse he wore under his suit. On his head, his red beret stood proud. Danny had made sure his pockets were literal pocket dimensions, so he was stocked on all kind of gadgets and other things.

"Sounds like we're gonna win," Sam smiled back at him.

Her outfit was a green bodysuit with intricate purple and green designs. The long sleeves ended up being more wide towards the end, and the neckline was...being weird. A high turtle neck with open shoulders and long sleeves connected to the rest with mere stitches. A necklace with a purple flower adorned her neck and her hair was in a high ponytail, though half of her hair was left out.

"I hope so," Danny chimed in.

He didn't want to stray too much from his actual costume, so his outfit stayed pretty much the same. The logo had stayed exactly how and where it was (for nostalgic reasons), but now it could also be found on the belt he wore. The Fenton Thermos —without logo— was clipped to the white belt, as well as a lipstick-ray and a net-shooter, the newest invention. The communicator he used to contact Clockwork was shoved into one of the pouches, out of sight. He too had pocket dimensions, but he hadn't had the chance to fill them yet.

"Teams will be divided by chance!" All Might announced as he held up a box.

"Isn't there a more fitting way to pick teams?" Iida asked.

"Think about it," Midoriya piped up, "Pro Heroes often have to team up with other Heroes right on the spot. So maybe that's the reason we're doing that."

"I see..." Iida muttered softly. "Life is a series of random events." He bowed to All Might. "Excuse my rudeness!"

"No sweat!" He turned around, one fist in the air. "Let's draw!"

Tucker ended up on being on team C with Yaoyorozu, the girl with the black ponytail and the other student that got in on recommendation. Danny shot him a sympathetic look for not being with one of them, but Tucker didn't seem to mind.

Sam and Danny ended up being together on team F, which they were glad about.

After finding out Midoriya and Uraraka were the heroes and would be battling against Iida and Bakugou, even Danny had to gulp. He knew this was a key point in the timeline and he couldn't do anything, but he wished he could.

Midoriya was getting distracted from the upcoming battle by Uraraka, who was bouncing with excitement of being on the same team.

"Danny, let's go to the monitoring room," Sam said as she pulled on his elbow.

"Yeah, let's go," Danny agreed as he shot one last glance and a thumbs-up to Midoriya, who looked like he really needed it.

"Bad guys, you may enter and set up," All Might announced to the four students. "Then, the good guys will be let loose and the battle will start.

"The key to winning this, is to embrace villainy. Think from the perspective of a Villain. If things go too far, I'll step in. Understood?"

"Yes sir," Iida confirmed as he stepped into the building.

Bakugou lingered back for a few more seconds before stepping into the building as well, mind set on revenge.

***_*_***

"Look at these screens!" Tucker exclaimed excitedly as they stepped into the monitoring room. The whole wall was covered in a screen decided into parts, each covering a unique part of the building they would use for the exercise. On one of them, Bakugou seemed to be telling Iida off as he inspected the fake bomb. They couldn't hear their conversation, but it seemed intense.

Outside, Uraraka and Midoriya were planning their plan of attack. Midoriya looked determined to win, and Uraraka was getting into it as well.

"All right!" All Might suddenly yelled through the speakers. "Let's begin the indoor combat training! Team A, Team D, your timer starts now!"


	7. A vs. D

All Might turned to face the class that was watching. "Pay attention, class, and think about what you would do." All Might took a notepad and started watching both teams intently.

Midoriya and Uraraka had climbed into the building via a window and started walked through the halls. They checked the corners before round them and carefully continued walking, Midoriya first and Uraraka walking right behind him. He seemed to be entirely focused, as if he had everything planned out until the finest details.

Danny knew he hadn't.

Suddenly, Bakugou jumped around the corner, surprising Team A. He went in to the right hook and Midoriya barely had time to grab Uraraka and jump out the way. They landed on the floor, and Danny could feel the collective cringe shuddering through the rest of the class.

Midoriya checked with Uraraka first before he quickly stood back up to face Bakugou. One half of his mask was missing, giving him a worn-out look, even though the match had only just started.

Team A communicated with each other before Bakugou swiped the mist from the explosion away and talking back to them.

"Tucker, couldn't you have planted a bug or something? I wanna hear what they're saying," Sam sighed as the other students murmured amongst themselves about the move.

Bakugou moved in for another attack with his right arm, but Midoriya caught his arm halfway, surprising Bakugou. He turned around and placed his left foot to the side, and with a mighty pull, he nearly _threw_ Bakugou over his shoulder. Bakugou landed on the floor with his back first, where he stayed for a few seconds, gasping for air.

He slowly got up again as he listened to Midoriya talk, his head hanging. Midoriya stood tall and looked at Bakugou.

"You can call me Deku, but I'm not the same defenseless helpless kid anymore. From now on, Deku is the name of a hero!" Danny could barely hear Midoriya's exclamation but using a little bit of his Ghost Half, he could just make out the words.

Meanwhile, Uraraka started to connect the dots. About how she had told Midoriya she liked the name and how he just announced himself as just that. Her eyes widened in admiration as the shy boy stood tall against his bully, and even though he was clearly afraid, Uraraka thought it was the bravest she'd even seen him as.

"Can we get sound? Who's he talking to?" the guy in the red getup asked aloud.

"He has a radio so he can talk to his partner," All Might explained, pointing at his own communicator. "I gave it to him before the time went in, along with the map of the building. And a roll of capture tape. Wrapping it around your opponent means you've apprehended them. They're out when that happens."

"Seems unfair."

"True, but true Heroes have to overcome these challenges in real life. But even then, we fight."

"Plus Ultra!"

" _Monsieur_ ," the guy in the medieval armor and glitter cape said, "they're on the move."

Bakugou had stood up again, glaring at Midoriya with all his might. He yelled —what Danny thought was— a threat at him and charged forward. Uraraka dashed away front the scene as Midoriya blocked Bakugou's kick with his arms. He quickly grabbed the capture tape and tried wrapping it around Bakugo's ankles.

Bakugou went for another big punch, but Midoriya seemed to have predicted the move and had jumped to the side, earning praises from the rest of the class from the Observation Room. Bakugou seemed surprised by the dodge, and started glaring again.

Midoriya caught sight of a small twitch of his hands and started running away, making Bakugou yell out in frustration. He managed to escape his field of vision and came to a halt around a corner. He thought to himself about the plan, seemingly lost in thought and memory.

Meanwhile, Uraraka had went towards the room where Iida was protecting the weapon. She peeked around the corner and watched how Iida talked himself into villainy. She snorted at seeing him proclaim himself as the embodiment of evil, making Iida turn to look in her direction.

At finding out she'd been caught, she moved to the middle of the room and looked how he praised himself for emptying the room so she had no possible weapons.

The Heroes communicated over the comms, and Midoriya seemed to be getting ready for an attack. Behind him, the gauntlet Bakugou was wearing glowed red as he pointed his arm at his classmate, who was frozen in place.

"What is that thing?" Sam whispered as he pointed the thing at Deku. "I'm not liking this."

"Young Bakugou, don't!" All Might warned him.

A ginormous blast took over the whole screen, obscuring the vision of the camera's on the hallway they were in.

Sam flinched as the explosion a few buildings away shook the ground under their feet. "Please tell me he dodged..."

A small light of red appeared in the black smoke, and the color disappeared from Sam's face. "He's not going to fire the second one too, right?"

While Iida was distracted by talking to Bakugou, Uraraka saw her chance and took off sprinting towards the weapon. She put her fingers together and took a mighty leap over Iida, who had come running towards her. She floated over him and went straight for the weapon.

She missed in by an inch as Iida took the fake bomb and moved it.

The smoke in the hallway had cleared, showing how Midoriya was ignoring Bakugou and talking to Uraraka. He was getting impatient and started charging again, but All Might told him off for trying again. He threatened with loss but didn't stop the fight.

Bakugou seemed ready to fight hand to hand and went in for an attack, but he hesitated at seeing _Deku_ getting ready for a counter. He shot an explosion below him and gracefully propelled himself over Midoriya, who he blasted in the back.

Midoriya was pushed forward and had to turn around again immediately. He didn't react fast enough and took a right hook. Bakugou grabbed his arm and threw him on the ground.

Danny watched how the class debated about who was stronger. All Might seemed to be having an internal battle with himself. His gaze turned to Sam, who had taken a hold of his arm. "He'll be fine, Sam," he reassured her as he swung an arm around her shoulders.

"You sure man?" Tucker squeaked. "He doesn't seem fine."

Midoriya stood with his back against the outer wall, having a face-off with Bakugou. Words were exchanged, but the class couldn't hear them. Midoriya was getting emotional about things, and Bakugou seemed fed up.

The two charged at each other, minds set on winning.

"Oh my God..."

"They're gonna kill each other! Sir!"

Bakugou charged up an explosion and went in for another right hook. Midoroiya's arm went all glowy with orange and pink lighting again as he too went in for a right hook.

"Both of you, stop!" All Might finally commanded over the comms.

"Uraraka now!"

Said girl grabbed hold of a pillar on the top floor, getting ready for whatever was going to happen.

Bakugou's hand went in the direction of Midoriya's face, while Midoriya's arm suddenly dipped and went back up again. There was an explosion, and an air current going upwards suddenly appeared. The ceiling crumbled an flew upwards, out of the top of the building.

Pieces of glass and debris shot through the air, and Uraraka's pillar suddenly weaved through the air, sending them flying towards Iida. She went for another big leap, and this time, Iida could do nothing about it.

A few floors down, Bakugou stared at the holes in the building with disbelief. He angrily cussed at Midoriya, who tried to deny what Bakugou was saying to him.

The smoke cleared, and the damage done was revealed. Midoriya's right arm was completely bruised, purples and blues scattering across his skin. His other arm was burned, courtesy of Bakugou's explosion.

The other teen was clearly unsettled by Midoriya's little speech, eyes wide and teeth clenched together.

The class seemed in shock as Midoriya fell to to side just after the timer ran out and All Might announced the winners, succumbing to his injuries.


	8. Battle

Midoriya was rolled out of the building by robots that were announcing they were heading towards the nurse's office, while the rest of the class could only watch how All Might tried comforting Bakugou with his loss.

Danny was now full-on hugging Sam, who couldn't handle all of it. Danny could understand her discomfort, but was more worried for her. She was going to be up there soon. Tucker just seemed lost in thought, molding over possible strategies.

The rest of the class was talking about what had happened and who had done what right with All Might. Iida seemed surprised by the results, but after Yaoyorozu's enlightenment that even bamboozled All Might, he seemed pleased and proud.

The next match was Todoroki and Shoji versus Ojiro and Hagakure. Danny was kind of curious about Hagakure, since she remained invisible all the time. Had she a greater endurance of the effects being invisible had? Did she have more stamina to remain that way? Or was she simply an invisible person?

But after Todoroki had launched his big-scale ice attack, all plans of talking to her were thrown out the window. He needed to talk to that guy.

"Wow..." Sam gaped at the monitors as she rubbed her arms. "He has so much control over it!"

"Dude, you n-need to talk to h-him..." Tucker shivered.

Danny was unfazed by the cold and merely watched, completely captivated, as the ice melted as well. He didn't know how or when, but he had to talk to him.

***_*_*_*_***

"Do you think they're gonna win?"

"Yaoyorozu and Tucker?" Danny asked. He crossed his arms and let out an amused breath. "If Tucker manages to keep his eyes on the prize instead of other things..."

The teams had already taken their places. Kaminari and Jiro were the heroes and were discussing strategy outside. Inside, Yaoyorozu was barricading the door with metal bars. Tucker couldn't do much but watch how she stacked them on top of each other.

"He's clearly trying to remain focused," Sam laughed as he shot a nervous look at the camera and mouthed "help" to them.

"Begin!"

Jiro and Kaminari casually walked into the building through the front, not bothered by possible attacks. They probably knew Yaoyorozu would barricade the doors. Jiro plugged herself in to the walls and listened. She pointed up with her index-finger, which Kaminari followed with a hesitating look.

Tucker was trying to talk strategy with Yaoyorozu, who silenced him and probably told him about Jiro's Quirk.

Yaoyorozu, who was still near the door, suddenly froze in place fell to the ground, yellow lightning bolts all over the —now— metal door. Danny grinned as he saw how Kaminari had used too much of his electricity and had rendered himself...well, useless.

Tucker was far away from the door, eyes wide as he started at the taken-down student. She was supposed to be the best and she got taken out that easily? He was screwed.

But first things first, she needed to be safe. Away from the door. Tucker swallowed and started rummaging through his pockets. When his whole arm disappeared in the inner pocket of his jacket, the rest of the class seemed to wake up.

"Dude, that's so awesome! He has literal pocket dimensions."

Tucker took out some marbles.

"Uh...what's he going to do with that?" the frog girl wondered aloud. "I mean, he's not going to be able to do anything with those, right?"

He let them roll onto the floor as he kept on grabbing more and more. The identical silver balls started rolling towards Yaoyorozu on their own accord, Tucker being the source of movement. When he felt like there were enough, they rolled under her.

She was lifted up.

"Dude, I'm confused. Pocket dimension? Levitation? Telekinesis? What is it? I mean, seriously, you can't have multiple, except his guy over here," the redhead said, pointing at Todoroki. "It's not fair he gets two."

Jiro tried using her speakers to blow through the door, but the metal bars in front of it held strong against the sound. Tucker silently thanked Yaoyorozu for her quick thinking as he held her up in the air.

Eventually, time ran out.

"So, what do you think of the exchange students?" Ashido asked Aoyama as they walked through the halls. "They're intriguing but I haven't talked to them yet."

"Their fashion sense is très bien if you ask me," he sparkled at her. "Look out with the acid. I wouldn't want any holes in my chique cape."

"Right, right..." she slowly nodded. "I'll be careful."

Silence lasted two seconds.

"What's our tactic?"

Aoyama came to a halt and Ashido barely avoiding sliding right into him. "Merde, we don't have any idea what their Quirks are." He whirled around, making his cape flutter after him as he took a step towards Ashido, who merely blinked at him. "You didn't happen to see what their Quirks are during the Quirk Assessment Test, oui?"

"He's fast," she shrugged. "And strong. And has great stamina. Not sure about strength or other things. I have literally no idea what hers is."

"I might have an idea..." Aoyama looked further into the building, but found it difficult to see the wall that was supposed to end the hallway. "It's...misty..?"

"Smells like flowers," Ashido squeaked out. "What if it's toxic?"

"She wouldn't poison us...right?"

The fog suddenly intensified, and they started shivering. A blue hue was added into the mix, obscuring the vision of the class and All Might into the hallways. Their vision on the 'villains' Danny and Sam had long gone. The mist had appeared as soon as they had entered the room, making All Might unable of telling what was happening. He had checked in, of course, but young Fenton had assured him it was part of a Quirk and that they were fine.

Tucker was smiling proudly at his lovebirds, ranting about how good they were to the other students.

"Is it just me or is it getting colder as well?" Ashido asked aloud, trying to find something she recognized. All she saw was the purple-blueish mist and part of Aoyama's cape and glasses. The bright colors were a good thing at the moment. "It's getting thicker as well. We must be coming closer to the source—"

A fast and sudden movement to her right startled her, and she was tempted to throw acid at the spot. Remembering that —in the worst case scenario— they would be her classmate, she managed to withhold herself from throwing the burning substance. "Aoyama, did you feel that?" she whispered.

Another one, this time on her left. She heard a faint sound coming from far ahead of her and suddenly panicked. How long had Aoyama been quiet for? She could barely see five feet so he had to be further away from her than that. He was probably pulling a prank on he—

Her arms were suddenly bound together and she was on her knees in an instant. She couldn't even protest as she was —though carefully— shoved against the wall, a hand over her mouth. The thick mist allowed her to only see the arm connected to the hand disappear in the fog and the eyes of her assailant.

Glowing green.

"The villains have won!"

Ashido slumped against the wall in defeat.

The fog retracted, and within a minute, she could see the 'villains' standing side by side, smiling at Aoyama and Ashido. Danny seemed to be satisfied and a bit apologetic, while Sam was full-on smirking at them in a victorious manner. They merely stood side by side, staring them down. They weren't even breathing heavily.

Ashido avoided their gaze as she was unbound. She hadn't even seen them coming.

Tucker elbowed the person next to him. "Those are mine."


	9. Recovery

"It's only the second day and he's already a regular patient," Recovery Girl scolded All Might. "You should've stopped him!"

"You're right."

"Don't apologize to _me_!"

Just outside the office, in the hallway, the Trio stood, waiting. They were planning on checking in on Midoriya, but at hearing a tired All Might getting completely pummeled by the old lady, they decided to wait.

"We could just go in, you know," Tucker shrugged. "I mean, invisible, intangible, all that crap. We could literally walk in without bothering them."

"Did you forget how attentive he is?" Sam asked. "He probably already knows we're standing right outside for all we know!"

"Does it matter, though?" Danny crossed his arms and looked between his two friends, who were now in 'normal' uniforms again. "Both of those people know what we're doing here anyway. We gotta make sure Midoriya doesn't, that's all."

Sam sighed. "Check first?"

Danny put his head through the wall and checked if Midoriya was awake. "He's out cold," he reported back. "We're good to go."

"...he needed to see he was able of winning the exercise. Also, will you not talk so out about One For All when anyone could—"

"Ahem."

All Might sputtered and turned away from the door, not having time to change forms without being seen.

"Recovery Girl?" Danny asked as he stepped into the room, Sam and Tucker right behind him. "We're wondering how he's doing." He turned to the other Pro Hero. "What's up, All Might?"

Said Hero frowned and turned around. "How do you..."

"You're not very secretive. I mean, you walk around in the same clothes in this form. It's...really not that hard," Tucker shrugged.

"What they're trying to say," Sam interrupted them with a glare, "is that your secret's safe with us. We won't tell anyone. Right boys?"

The two nodded.

"This is the most drama besides injury I've seen in years. I like these kids," Recovery Girl said to All Might as she pointed at them with a smile on her face.

All Might was at a loss for words.

"He's going to be fine," she said as she turned to look at the teen in the bed. "He's tired, but as soon as the IV worked out, he's going to be up and running in no time."

Danny saw from the corner of his eye Midoriya tiredly opened his eyes.

"W... What happened..?"

All Might wanted to tell the three others to get out quickly, but they had vanished from their spots. He and Recovery Girl blinked at the empty space, but quickly went to address the teen in the bed.

***_*_***

Around half past three, Midoriya slowly opened the door to the classroom. He was surprised to find students waiting on him.

"There he is! Good to see you're back." The guy with red hair stepped forward. "I don't know what you were saying during that fight, but man, you were ready!"

The boy with the weird elbows came to stand behind the redhead. "I can't believe you managed to last that long against Bakugou!"

"You did a great job dodging!" Ashido interrupted them. She cut off Aoyama as well as he started talking. "And your dodging, wow!"

"I'm Eijiro Kirishima. We were talking about your results while you were in recovery," he said, pointing at the guy behind him.

"I'm Hanta Sero."

"I'm Mina Ashido!"

The frog-girl suddenly appeared behind Ashido. "And I'm Tsuyu Asui, but you can call me Tsu."

While Midoriya was being suffocated by other teens, Danny sat on Sam's desk, looking at the group. "He's attracting a lot of attention."

"Well, duh," Tucker said. He sat in his own chair, between Danny and the door. He turned to look at his best friend. "I mean, he's kind of the person that things happened to. Remember back in Freshman when..."

"He's just the one that did something no one expected and now he's being interrogated by nosey people," Sam interrupted him. She sat on her desk as well, leaning with her back against Danny's side. "It happened all the time in Amity. Of course you're watching the person that appears to have some sort of big superpower or had some weird thing happening to them. They're just making a big fuss about it."

Iida came running towards them. "Fenton! Why are you sitting on the table?!"

"Dude, you need to chill," Tucker said as he stood up. "You're way too tense about things."

"Also fussing too much," Sam whispered to Danny as Iida kept rambling about disrespecting furniture. Danny stifled his chuckles by coughing, making Sam laugh.

Uraraka and Kaminari walked into the classroom, but she quickly abandoned him mid-asking-out and ran towards Midoriya, who seemed kind of embarrassed to explain the situation.

Danny noticed how he looked at the empty desk where Bakugou usually sat and panicked a bit. At hearing he had left, Midoriya took off sprinting.

The Trio shared a look and hopped out of the classroom as well. They went towards the big glass walls that covered the front and looked down on how Midoriya explained something to Bakugou. Bakugou didn't seem to believe his story and got angry with Midoriya. He made exclamations of frustrations and yelled a last threat before walking off.

Suddenly, All Might took hold of Bakugou's shoulders and looked up.

"He's probably giving a speech," Danny chuckled.

Tsu, Uraraka and Ashido suddenly appeared next to Danny, who jumped.

"The faded battle between rivals," Uraraka said as if she was commentating on a movie. "Childhood friends turned enemies..."

"I wonder what they were talking about..." Ashido said.

"Whatever he was saying, it looked like Bakugou really wanted to punch Midoriya."

All Might started talking to Midoriya, and the three girls had suddenly vanished again.

"You want to talk to him?" Tucker asked at seeing Danny itch through the window with his fingers.

"Let's wait until All Might leaves. I've had enough of his personality today..." Sam sighed as she slid down the glass with her back. "He's draining to be around. I'm tired."

"Let's go, then." Danny didn't even warn the others before grabbing them and jumping through the window. They shrieked in surprise, alerting Midoriya of their presence. Danny landed gracefully and let go of Sam and Tucker right after, who fell to their knees. "Whoops," he said with a sheepish grin. "Sorry guys."

Midoriya merely stared at how casual Danny had appeared while the other two seemed to be disorientated with their sudden shift in location. "H... How did you do that!?" he asked, eyes wide and sparkling. "Is it part of your Quirk? What even is your Quirk? Sorry, was that rude? I'm sorry. But still! And you two! What're yours?"

"Midoriya, calm down," Danny laughed. "You weren't rude. It's kind of funny, no offense."

"None taken!" He looked at Sam and Tucker. "You two alright?"

"We're fine," Sam waved him off as she grabbed Danny's hand to stand up. She leaned against his side to remain upright.

Tucker waved his hand away. "G...gimme a m-minute..."

"He usually warns us before doing that kind of thing, so we were a bit caught by surprise."

"Sorry?" He turned to Midoriya. "Anyway, you want to know about our Quirks? That's cool. It's weekend now so we can meet up tomorrow or the day after. Sound good?"

"Y-yeah! You could come to my place! I'm sure my mom would like to meet you. She's probably gonna make lots of food as well, so..."

Tucker was suddenly standing. "Did someone call?"


	10. Quirks

"I'll get it!" Midoriya yelled as the doorbell rang. He sprinted past his mother in the kitchen, who was also moving towards the door. Opening it, he smiled at the trio. "Hey guys! Come in."

They greeted him as well and walked into the living room where Inko was waiting for them. "You must be Izuku's friends! It's very nice to meet you. Fenton, Manson and Foley, right?"

"It's nice to meet you too," Danny smiled at her as he gave her a little bow. "And please, it's Danny."

"Sam."

"Tucker."

"I need to go shopping for a bit," Inko said mostly to Midoriya. "You four will be fine on your own, I presume."

"Mom, we'll be fine," he quickly interrupted her. "You go do some nice things, we'll be here when you get back. I'll leave a note when we're going anywhere else and I'll have my phone on me."

She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and disappeared out of the house.

"Your mother is very nice and caring," Sam noted as she sat down on the couch. "Must be nice to have someone like that to come home to."

"It is," Midoriya sighed. "You three are all alone in that apartment."

"We're getting by," Tucker said. "I mean, it's not like we're dying out of social isolation or anything like that. We've kind of been a trio for years. We're used to it."

"Enough depressing talk!" Danny piped up. "Let's do what we're here for."

"Hold on! I need to write this down!" Midoriya exclaimed as he went rummaging through a drawer. "I never got to see anyone in action during the rest of the exercise, but you can fill me in!" He proudly showed a notebook with No. 13 written on it. It was burned and had been wet, but Midoriya was still very careful with it. "I don't even know what your Quirks are! In the Quirk Assessment Test, I was so focused on making the final cut that I didn't exactly pay very good attention."

"Don't worry about it," Tucker waved him off. He started moving in his seat as he saw how Midoriya got his pencil ready on a new page. "Can I go first?" he asked his friends, getting kind of giddy.

"Please," Sam gestured at him. "Just show it."

Tucker beamed and took a small marble out of his pocket. He showed it to Midoriya, who seemed completely enchanted by the silver ball. Tucker's hand moved downwards, but the ball stayed in the same place. "That thing is made of a special composition of metal materials. I have dozens of them in the apartment."

"You can control metal? That's so cool," Midoriya marveled as he started scribbling. "So, you need that exact composition of metals or can you control any kind? And how much weight can you lift? How far away can you control it?"

"Calm down dude, we have all afternoon," Tucker laughed. "You know, I'm not exactly sure how far and how much, and I'm not exactly sure if it's metal manipulation or magnetism or something. We haven't, exactly...tested that yet. Where we came from, in the town, it was kind of forbidden to use your Quirk. We trained since the start of the year, but I had barely ever used it. I have three weeks experience with it."

"Only three weeks?"

"Yep. And he's already able to lift 100 marbles and someone with them," Sam filled him in. "He lifted Yaoyorozu during training. Kaminari had electrocuted her and she was out. He moved her to safety."

Midoriya nodded intensely. "And what about you?"

Sam smiled and put her hand forward. Out of her palm, a small flower bloomed up. "I'm not as sure of the name or uses as Tucker is, but something with plants and flowers. I, too, have three weeks experience, so I'm a little _green_ as well."

"She made a mist that went through the whole exercise building that was so thick we couldn't even see what was happening," Tucker added, ignoring the pun. "What kind of flower produces that kind of mist?"

"They were the pollen," Sam explained. "I made a lot and the atmosphere and AC did the rest."

"That's so cool."

"Nah, you should see him," Sam said, pointing at Danny, who started blushing. "Honestly, you've seen nothing yet. He's a real talent. He got special training so he's been using his power since he was a whole lot smaller, if that's even possible."

"I'm not short," he huffed as he crossed his arms. He avoided sticking out his tongue as he said, "I'm taller than you are."

"I'm taller in the costume."

"Yeah, but you have _heels_."

"We're trailing off," Tucker 'yelled' from the couch. "We're not here to talk about who's taller or has a better costume —which, by the way, is clearly me— but about Quirks. Danny, you're avoiding it."

"Am not."

"Then what's it called?"

"It's called—" Danny glared at Tucker— "Energy."

"So what kind of Quirk is it?" Midoriya asked, oblivious to the confused stares of the other two as he jotted the name down. "Obviously not mutant, since you don't look different —no offense. So it's either transformation or emitter. Do you, like, change when you use your Quirk or do you shoot things?"

Danny frowned. "There's different kinds? Are they, like, what, categorized?"

"Yes! I can't believe I get to tell someone this since it's usually taught in school." Midoriya fidgeted with his pencil as he remembered his very first notebook. "There's three kinds of known Quirks. One is mutant, which is what Hagakure, Tsu, and Ojiro have. Invisibility, frog-like features and a tail. It's a physical thing that you can't turn off. Transformation is kind of self explanatory. You change. Like Lady Mountain does when she turns into a giant. The last one, emitters, are when you shoot projectiles from you body. Todoroki with his ice and Bakugou with the explosions, for example."

"You're really all-knowing on Quirks, aren't you?" Danny said as Sam and Tucker shared a worried look.

"It's kind of a hobby..."

"More than a hobby. Don't get me wrong, we're also all-knowing on some things. There's a game that Sam knows inside-out, cheat codes, shortcuts and everything."

"What category would I be in?" Tucker suddenly said. "Not mutant, but my guess would be the last one. Emission? Emit— what?"

"Emitters," Midoriya filled him in. "Sam would be as well. She literally creates things out of nothing. But you don't create the objects and you don't bring anything into existence..."

"Question," Danny said as he mock-raised his hand. "Could you fall in multiple categories?"

"You'd have to have multiple Quirks, and that's...not possible." Midoriya started panicking a bit. Had he revealed something by hesitating? Did they know? God he hoped they didn't realize it was possible—

"That's a shame," Danny huffed. He had already showed off his mist —which was basically him cooling down the air around him— and now he couldn't do anything else. He was stuck with that or had to come up with something else.

Great.

"Dude, do the thing that makes green shit."

"Tucker, we can't scare him like that," Sam said, drowning in disapproval. " _But_ you said said you would, so you're taking responsibility," she muttered as she pointed at Danny with a stern look on her face.

Midoriya seemed confused. "What, is he going to turn into something really gross or something?"

"No," Sam immediately said before Danny could start thinking negatively about his _Quirk_. "It's completely not gross and not disgusting or anything like that. He's very hesitant because people didn't like it where we come from. But I'm sure you'll like it."

Danny gave her a small smile and turned to look at Midoriya. He gave a smirk that Midoriya found a bit unsettling, but he watched intensely as Danny raised his hand and a blue-green swirl of energy played in his palm. "Energy comes in many forms. The mist is one of them. Pure energy is _also_ an application."

Sam gave an approving and knowing smirk as Midoriya started asking questions and Danny answered them as best as he could.

That was one less problem.


	11. Sparring

On Monday morning, they were back in their training outfits. After Danny had 'shown off' as Sam had called it, they had talked for _hours_ about the best heroes according to Midoriya. He explained how the ranking worked and which heroes were in which spot. The boy knew _all_ about the system and how it worked.

They had tried to get him to talk about his Quirk, but Midoriya had managed to change the subject or turn the question back. Danny was amazed at how good he was at that.

When they had gotten back to their own apartment after a long talk about all kinds of things, they got a message from Clockwork. Though it was obvious Danielle has sent it. She had asked how it felt to be one year younger than she was now, which raised some questions. Clockwork had explained how since everyone in class 1-A was 14 or 15, he had to do some tweaking. So the 17-year-olds were 14 again, which caused Dani to be greatly amused.

**"No funny business over there, younglings."**

Danny had promised he'd get back to her for that.

"I can't believe we didn't notice that before this," Tucker said as they walked into the indoor training room. "I mean, we're three years younger than we were weeks ago and didn't notice. That's probably also why we're looked at so weirdly. Three 14-year-olds in one apartment? Please."

"I'm gonna be 15 in a few weeks," Danny said with faux excitement. "My eighteenth birthday, and I'm stuck here."

"You're saving people."

Danny sighed as they lined up in front of Aizawa, who was tiredly glancing over the class. "True."

"You're going to be doing some warming-up and then you're sparring," he said as he took his yellow sleeping bag out of nowhere. "This is to get to know different fighting styles of your classmates. While you fight out who is against who, I'll be in the office at the entrance. No Quirks, no real punches and no major injuries. The old lady will have my head." Aizawa waved them off and strolled towards the entrance.

Iida was complaining to Uraraka about how bad the teaching was while she tried explaining what they were supposed to be doing. Midoriya stood besides them, getting uncomfortable.

"I'm gonna go talk to him," Danny said to his friends. "Try to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid and end up with someone that wants to kill him."

"Deku!"

Danny groaned and rolled his eyes in annoyance as Bakugou stalked towards the panicked teen. "You, me. Field three. Five minutes."

"O-of course, Kacchan!"

And he stalked off again.

"You have to stop letting him boss you around like that, Deku!" Uraraka tried to talk courage into him.

"Letting yourself be commanded by peers like that is not good for you, Midoriya," Iida added. "You have to stand up for yourself and take matters into your own hands."

"They're right, you know," Danny said as he walked up to them, hands in his pockets and a relaxed smile on his face. "He can't keep on doing that forever unless you let him. Are you really going to let yourself be bossed around like that? Stand up for yourself and make a statement. Like you did in the exercise last week."

"Wait, you heard that?" Midoriya asked, eyes wide.

Danny gestured to the first field. "Wanna spar with me instead?"

Shooting a hesitant glance at Bakugou, he saw how he was looking at him, glaring and obviously waiting to kick his ass. Did he really want to do this?

"Hmm?"

He turned back to Danny with a small excited smile. "Yes, please!"

Bakugou was fuming with sheer anger as he saw the two of them start warming up, laughing with each other. He crossed his arms and sank his head between his shoulders, trying to contain his rage. As he saw Shitty Hair running towards him with a concerned smile on his face, he rolled his eyes and groaned. "What do you want?"

"Bakugou! I noticed you were all alone here so I thought I'd pay a visit. Wanna spar?"

"Hell no!" Bakugou yelled out. "Go back to whatever hole you came out of and leave me alone!"

"You need time, gotcha," he finger gunned at him. "I'll be back. Maybe get Kaminari as well. And Sero and Ashido, they're pretty cool. Catch ya later bro!" he yelled as he ran off to the rest of the class, who were standing near the entrance, also warming up.

Midoriya rolled his head and planted his feet firmly on the ground. He watched as Danny did the same, seeming way more comfortable in the situation. Danny was tense, but better at hiding it. He really didn't want to hurt Midoriya, so holding back was kind of an only option. The two shared a look as some cheers and shouts of encouragement came from the edge of the field, and Midoriya caught sight of Bakugou watching from the left as well. He gulped as Tucker appeared at the right side and held one hand up.

"Whoever's first to get the other one on the ground wins! No Quirks, no K.O. punches and no feet! Ready? Go!" He moved his arm downward, and they were both on the move in an instant.

The few feet that were between them was quickly covered as they both stepped forward. Midoriya rolled to the side as Danny tried to grab his arm, and was fast enough to stand back up in time before Danny could throw another attack at the ground. Midoriya went for a punch, but Danny moved his body back and grabbed Midoriya's wrist with his hand.

Midoriya jabbed the region between his torso and shoulder, resulting in Danny yelping and letting go of his wrist. Midoriya saw his opportunity and grabbed Danny's right wrist. He moved along his right, pulling Danny's arm over his own head, essentially locking Danny in with his own arm.

Danny grabbed hold of Midoriya's arm with his left hand and twisted his body until they were face to face again, both holding on to each other's wrists.

"This is...interesting," Sam muttered to Tucker "He's trying to show people Midoriya can actually spar without hurting himself. He planned this. See Bakugou?" she asked, pointing at the blond. "He's surprised to see them last that long against each other."

A collective "ouch" resonated though the onlookers that had stopped working for themselves as Midoriya hit Danny. Said teen stumbled two steps back, clutching one arm over his stomach, even though he was grinning. "Good hit."

"I am _so sorry!"_ Midoriyaexclaimed as he put his hands over his mouth. "Rush of the moment. Please forgive me."

"We're sparring, remember?" Danny said as he got back in a stance and gestured at Midoriya. "Keep them coming."

Midoriya nodded and went back to focusing on the fight again. This time, Midoriya moved first, coming at Danny with a right hook aimed at his arm. Danny sidestepped the attack and made a 270 before grabbing hold of his arm and moving it down. Midoriya yelped as he —semi-softly— hit the ground, one arm behind his back and Danny on top of him.

"Danny wins!" Tucker yelled out, cheering his friend on.

Danny let go of Midoriya's arm and helped him stand up. "Good match. I can't wait to do it again when we can use our Quirks, though. I'm curious."

"Same here," Midoriya smiled back.

Aizawa sighed in his office as the two of them were praised by the rest of the class. He should've seen it coming. The two involuntary attention-seekers had teamed up and were the center of the class. It would take weeks before this... _match_ was forgotten, and by then, they'd done twenty other things.

He could only imagine Present Mic and All Might in those places when _they_ were 14.

Two oblivious teenagers who knew nothing of the world and its challenges, responsibilities and dangers. Unaware of the future and not guaranteed anything, despite wanting to be the best. He huffed in amusement and kept watching how the others started doing something as well.

Those two were going to be trouble, and he could already tell.


	12. Teachers' Conference

"I'm glad you could all come at such short notice," Nezu smiled at the other teachers as they nodded back at him. "I am aware of the strange memo and the circulation of speculations that it caused, but I am going to paint a clear picture of both the situation and the plan here. If anyone has questions, please say so."

He pulled up a few papers stacked in his part of the conference table and motioned for them to be spread. "These are copies of the student files in the three. Daniel Fenton, Samantha Manson and Tucker Foley."

"Americans?"

"Indeed, Miss Midnight. Not even did they come from a long way around the globe, they travelled through dimensions to get here as well." He ignored the stares with a small smile as he continued. "They have been placed in Class 1-A, under Aizawa, and have mixed with the other students. There are no suspicions going around for as far is clear to us and everything is going well so far."

"We're lying to the students," All Might piped up. "It's wrong."

Aizawa grumbled something about All Might and being a hypocrite, but only Present Mic, who was sitting on his right, heard it. He snorted but covered it up by saying, "The students will understand if they were to find out."

"On top of the fact that they could be found out, they're only fourteen years old," Recovery Girl added. "To put such a responsibility on a child..." She didn't need to see to know how All Might flinched.

"I like them," Snipe put in. "They're not afraid of a challenge, each have a good set of brains, they got personality, and their heart is in the right place. Besides: they're already here." He huffed. "It would be cruel to send them back after such long travels."

"You may look at them with scepticism and indignation, but I've been told they have quite the reputation in their dimension." Nezu watched in amusement as everybody asked what he meant. "Looks can be deceiving, ladies and gentlemen. These are no irresponsible teenagers. These children are seventeen." He looked at their surprised, some gaping, faces. "In fact, in just a month, young Fenton will be turning eighteen."

"That shouldn't be forming any kind of argument that would support the case," All Might stubbornly said. "Nezu, _please_ reconsider. We know nothing of them. Do we really entrust them with this information and position of power?"

"Give them a chance, All Might," Midnight said as she rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair. "It's not like you waited long to become a Hero. If I recall correctly, you did the same things when you were around that age."

Aizawa sighed. "As long as they don't get hurt, they can do as they please in my opinion. Considering their experiences in the past, they will do." His gaze hardened a bit as he looked at Nezu. " _But_ they are students besides their mission. I refuse to go easy on them with homework and extra training because of this."

"Extra training?"

"Manson and Foley ave had their Quirk for three weeks, Recovery Girl. Surely they could use some extra training."

"Three weeks?" she exclaimed, looking at Nezu in shock. "Are their bodies not used to Quirks!? They need proper training! I'm sure there's enough compatabilies to make use of, but you can't tell me they know what they are for _two weeks!"_

 _"_ I would not appreciate if they got to do this," Thirteen hesitantly said. "They might have experience in the field, but this is another _dimension_. If they don't get control over their Quirks quickly, they're at a great disadvantage."

"If they say they can manage, I want to see them try," Ectoplasm said. "I would suggest a battle to see what they are capable of in a few weeks, when they have a better idea of their Quirks. Before that, they _do_ need extra training."

"They seem more than fit for the task," Present Mic said. "Over three years of training back where they come from, lots of intel from the blue dude in the cape and with the staff, _and_ it seems that Listener Fenton here—" he held up the paper and pointed at the still empty 'Quirk' section— "is more than powerful enough to take care of it. If he won't even fill in what it is because he thinks it 'might raise suspicion,' I can't help but be curious."

"I must agree with Aizawa and Ectoplasm on the matter at hand," Cementoss spoke up. "As long as they know what they're doing and do not harm anyone, I will stand behind it."

"They seem pretty cool to me," Power Loader said.

"I'm just saying they need to be careful or I'll have my hands full."

Midnight rolled her eyes and sighed. "Let the kids have some fun."

"These three might not look like much now, but they're more than capable after years of doing this," Nezu spoke up to still the ongoing argument. "Do not underestimate them because of their appearance."

All Might was starting to think it was ten against one.

"I understand what I'm asking if you," Nezu said with a solemn expression, "but think about what will happen if we send them away. These are lives we can save."

A silence fell over the room.

"I believe a vote would be in order?" Nezu said as he looked around. "I must insist you must think about the consequences of both options; if they stay, they're in danger, but they can save people. They have more than enough experience in the field, as well as behind the screens, and I have faith in them. The training sessions will be needed, of course, but it won't be long until they have the necessary control. If they leave..."

"We know what'll happen," Present Mic finished for him. He looked around his colleagues before crossing his arms. "I say we let them. It'll do more good than harm."

Midnight, Power Loader, Snipe and Ectoplasm hummed and raised their hands in agreement. Aizawa grumbled something that made Mic snort before also raising his. Thirteen, Recovery Girl and All Might did nothing, making Nezu close the folder on the table before him.

"It seems more are in favor of them staying, so they will."

***_*_***

"So we get to stay?"

Sam elbowed Tucker as he tried to yell something, shutting him up with a small whine.

"That's great!"

"He's still talking," Sam hissed. "Don't interrupt their phone call."

"Alright."

"Then why are we listening in?"

"Thank you, you too."

"Because it also concerns us, idiot."

Danny hung up the phone and sighed in relief before opening the door, finding Sam and Tucker trying to act normal. He raised on eyebrow before walking past them, and they shared a look before running after him, into the living room. "What'd he say?" Tucker asked before jumping on his back. "Tell uuuussss," he whined as Danny spinned around and tried to get him off. "Dannyyyyyy..."

Danny successfully turned intangible.

He stuck out his tongue at Tucker before turning to Sam, who was civilly waiting. "They voted in favor of us staying."

"They had a vote?"

Danny shrugged. "Apparently. Nezu called to tell me— _us,_ about it. I'm kind of hurt they didn't tell us beforehand, but I get it. We might've tried to do something."

"You wouldn't."

"But they don't know that," Danny pointed out as he pointed at Sam and Tucker before walking into the kitchen. "What's for dinner, anyway?"

"Don't you dare put the stove on, you'll blow it up!" Sam exclaimed before pushing both boys out of the way. "Go make the table. I'll cook."

"Thank you dearly, Sammikins."

She pointed at Tucker with a knife while Danny laughed. "Not another word."


	13. Woods (1)

All that was left was chaos.

The screams of his classmates were ones Midoriya would never forget as they were attacked without any mercy in the eyes of their assailants. Exclamations if victory resonated through the air as _his_ teammates were taken out. He could only dodge and hope he wouldn't get hit. His team was covered in red, him being the only one left...

Or so he thought.

"Midoriya!"

He looked up to find Danny dodging lasers, trying to get closer to him, while also trying to take out their opponents. "Danny?"

"We gotta move!"

Danny shot his gun one last time before rolling into the bushes sideways, grabbing Midoriya by his arm and running. They ran for what felt like hours, dodging trees, bushes, vines, rocks, and other plants, while in fact they were running for mere minutes.

Midoriya hid behind a tree, panting heavily as they escaped.

Danny was on his other side behind another tree, pressing himself against the wood with his back. "You okay?"

"They got every single one of us," Midoriya said as he looked at the ground as he clenched his fists. "We're the only two."

"This is one heck of a training, huh?" Danny laughed as he looked in front of him.

All Might had thought of a new exercise that was supposed to learn people how to work together. The class had been split up in two groups of ten and been placed in the other sides of the woods training area. Every student had a laser-tag vest on and a gun that shot 'lasers' —ultra red light that would trigger the other vests, turning the green lights into red ones. If they were hit once they'd be out. The last team standing would win.

"It's not fair," Midoriya pouted angrily.

"Fights are rarely fair, trust me," Danny said as he peeked around his tree. He ignored —or didn't notice— Midoriya's worried look and immediately hid again. "I may or may not have taken out a few before running. I think I hit Tokoyami, but Dark Shadow might've blocked the laser. I'm pretty sure Yaoyorozu's out, too."

"If we can get a surprise on them as they charge we might take out a few more. I'm not sure how many's left."

Danny nodded in thought and looked at Midoriya. "Let's say there's about...seven left, since a few of out team also took some out as we were jumped. Bakugou and Todoroki are left for sure, and we don't know about the others."

"I don't think Iida's been hit, either," Midoriya piped up. "I mean, he's super fast. And Ashido could've—"

"Stop hiding you damn nerds and face me head-on!"

Midoriya and Danny shared a look. "...Crap."

***_*_*_***

"Bakugou!" Todoroki hissed. "You're giving away our position!"

"Eh, so what," he huffed as he twirled his gun around his index-finger. "It's two against six, they don't stand a chance."

"Bakugou, you are being very selfish and rude," Iida said as he chopped at the explosive blond. "Our strategy was —as Uraraka just proposed— going to be stealth. You are _not_ being stealthy."

Jiro and Tokoyami nodded as they stood behind them, backing up Iida and Uraraka.

"It's not wise to yell in this situation," Tokoyami said. "Our best option is to—"

"Listen."

Jiro shot a look at Todoroki, who was holding up one index-finger to silence them. "Rude."

"I can hear them. Jiro, plug in."

Jiro rolled her eyes but did as she was told nonetheless. "Two people —probably Midoriya and Fenton— fifty meters ahead. They're splitting up —probably trying to circle us," she reported, tone turning determined instead of agitated.

"Can you tell who is who?"

"No."

"Great. Let's split up as well," Bakugou grinned. "I'm taking Round Face and Dark Knight over here. You three go right."

"Bakugou, that's not a viable strategy!" Iida hissed as Bakugou disappeared between the bushes. "We're supposed to be planning together, communicating! Actually strategizing!" He stared as Uraraka shot him an apologetic shrug and walked after Bakugou, followed close by Tokoyami.

"Iida, chill. We can still win this," Jiro said. She plugged herself back into the ground, listening intensely at possible footsteps. They _had_ made quite some noise, so the chances of the others knowing their location was most certainly there. She held up her hand to stop the others from talking and whipped her head in their direction, meeting their confused gazes. "They...disappeared..?"

"What?"

"T-there's no footsteps! Nothing!" she exclaimed, gesturing at the area around them. "The closest thing is Bakugou yelling "Nerd!" so he probably found Midoriya. I have _zero_ clue where Fenton is!"

"Perhaps he hid in a tree?" Todoroki suggested. He shrugged as the other two stared at him. "It's a viable strategy."

"I suppose..." Iida said, putting one hand to his chin in thought. "Though he would have to be close and within Jiro's hearing range. He still breathes, which makes sound."

About fifteen feet away from them, Danny couldn't help but roll his eyes and smirk. He had changed into Phantom, which enabled him to be _dead_ quiet. No breathing, no walking, no moving. He could even phase though the air if he wanted to. In the distance, he could hear Bakugou going off completely, and if he were to stand on top of his branch, he would've _seen_ the explosions as well. Their plan to make them split up had worked _perfectly,_ and now all he needed to do was shoot the others.

 _But_ first things first, he needed to make sure no one would see Phantom.

He cringed internally as he closed his eyes and started focusing on the cold part of his core. He should've made some sort of cape to hide his hair —possibly even the rest of his face, leaving his eyes to shine through. _'That would've been so_ ** _epic,_** ' he thought as the mist started moving towards the small clearing where his three _targets_ were.

Three moving targets that could shoot back and he couldn't hurt otherwise.

He opened his eyes and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. The mist was so thick even he could barely see three feet in front of him, and he _made_ it. But nothing to do about it now. He needed to be careful now. Last time, he had only two people in a closed off room. Now there were three in an open space. But, no matter. He'd take them down.

'Cause he was sure as hell not gonna lose.

***_*_*_***

"What's with all this mist all of a sudden?"

"He did the same thing in the two versus two last week, remember?" Todoroki said as he looked around the clearing, that was getting more and more hard to see in. "I thought it was hers."

"I heard something." Jiro suddenly said as she pointed to her right. "A breath. Ten mete-"

"Look out!"

Jiro was pulled back by Iida, only just escaping the laser coming from _her_ right. She blinked and found herself sitting on the ground, Iida hovering behind her. "I knew Fenton was fast, but _this?"_

Todoroki rolled to avoid getting hit from his left and came to a halt next to the other two. "Dang it. He's everywhere. We gotta run."

Iida's vest was suddenly glowing red.

"Iida has been hit!" All Might announced out of the speakers that had come out of nowhere. "You may leave the premises."

Iida grumbled as he stood. A path appeared in the mist, showing him the way to the exit.

"It's been fun!" The voice of Danny rang through the clearing, an echo behind it. "See ya!"

Todoroki and Jiro shuddered at the ease in which the partway closed, trapping them in the fog once again.


	14. Woods (2)

Midoriya shot Danny one last thumbs up before walking the other way. He gathered small rocks and twigs as he went, stuffing them in his pouches. After a minute or so, he looked around for a sturdy looking tree at the edge of a clearing with lots of branches. With a determined smile, he pulled his hood over his head and started climbing. Once he was halfway up the tree, he made himself comfortable —for as far as that was possible in a tree— and started scanning the area.

 _'There's a fifty percent chance Kacchan will come this way,'_ he thought as he looked over the trees. He hoped he wouldn't have to face him, actually. Taking out the others would be both easier and simpler. Fighting Kacchan was just...not in his system.

 _Yet_.

"Nerd!"

Bakugou, Tokoyami and Uraraka stepped into the clearing, and Midoriya internally screamed. The guy that could block the laser, the girl he got embarrassed around, and _Kacchan._ Midoriya rolled his eyes at his luck, but got ready for the plan anyway.

He watched how Bakugou put one hand up and made an explosion appear, reaching up to above the trees. Midoriya had to lean back to avoid getting scorched by the flames.

"Come out from wherever you're hiding and face me like a man!"

"Us..." Uraraka angrily huffed to Tokoyami, who rolled his eyes. Dark Shadow was curled up around him, blocking the vest from every direction, his head on Tokoyami's shoulder. "Are we...invisible, to you, or something?" she asked Bakugou, who didn't even look at her. She pouted angrily and crossed her arms. "This exercise is about team-effort, remember. You can't just blow up the whole forest!"

"I do whatever the hell I want, Roundface," he said as he started looking around. "I'll shoot that damn nerd myself and then we'll all be on our merry way."

Midoriya barely had time to switch branches to be out of sight before Bakugou's gaze went over his tree. He could nearly feel his eyes burning through the wood, but kept quiet. As he heard Bakugou curse over not finding him, he dared to let out the breath he was holding and switched back. It was time for _Phase Two_.

He dug deep in his pouches. Danny would be done with the others soon and come as 'back-up', though Midoriya was pretty sure _he_ was the backup _._ Not that it mattered or he cared or anything. If being an extra would secure their win, he'd gladly stay at the sidelines. If winning required him to be the bait, he'd be the bait. If the plan needed him to take out at least one opponent with the most stupid sounding plan ever...

He'd execute the plan as expected.

So he started throwing small rocks to various edges of the clearing.

He laughed internally as the three started looking around, completely baffled by the strange noises. This was the most stupid idea he'd had and it was actually working out _great_. Tokoyami had moved to the left edge, while Bakugou had gone to the right. Uraraka was standing in the middle, confused.

So he dropped some rocks.

The rustling of leaves alerted only Uraraka, who shakily pointed her gun at the leaves and started itching closer to the bushes. She had felt out of place between the two boys that had such determined plans and presences. She felt like she needed to prove herself to the others, and would take out whoever it was behind those high bushes. She shakily moved one arm forward towards the greens and pushed them all out of the way.

Nothing.

She frowned as she slightly lowered her gun and took a step forwards. She had been so _certain_ of a sound coming from here! How could anyone have possibl—

"Uraraka!"

She yelped as her left hand was grabbed and pulled forwards, making her have to spin to avoid getting it in an uncomfortable position. She found herself with her back against something, her gun gone from her hand and her arms locked behind her, unable to move. She struggled against the grip, but the hand on her wrists was not letting go.

Uraraka was pushed forward and had to watch her feet to know where she was going. Coming face to face with both Tokoyami and Bakugou as she looked back up when the moving stopped, she realized what exactly had happened. She moved her head to the side as much as she could and saw a hint of a mint green costume with white details. 

Of course.

Midoriya stood behind Uraraka, using her as a shield. The other two had no _way_ of hitting him when she was right in front of him. He pointed his gun —having put Uraraka's in a pouch— at Bakugou over the shoulder of his captive. No use in pointing it at Tokoyami, since Dark Shadow was now completely in front of him instead of curled around him.

Bakugou was the one without a shield.

"So, you finally decided to show up," Bakugou said as he steadied his hand with his other. It felt uncomfortable to be without his gauntlets, but All Might had removed them from the suitcase beforehand, so they were probably stored in some vault until he got them back. "About damn time."

"Move and I'll shoot her," Midoriya threatened with a wobbling voice and shaking knees. Though he seemed to be meaning it, he was honestly doubting if he could take out anyone at the moment. Still, he held on to the tough façade and kept glaring at the two others.

"You're in no place to make demands," Tokoyami said. And there went Midoriya's confidence, straight out of the window. "It's three against one. Judging by the lack sound coming from the others, they've taken care of Fenton. They're probably even on their way here."

Midoriya gulped. Surely, Danny would taken care of the others, right? Yet, he doubted it. Three against one seemed unfair... He blinked and couldn't suppress a little smile. He'd just been given valuable information.

"Wouldn't count on it."

Since three were here, it would be only fair if the other team would be three as well. Maybe four, but he didn't think that was the case. And still, Danny would be able to handle them or lead them here, so it'd be two on however-many-were-left-by-then.

"Counting on someone else now, huh?" Midoriya's head snapped to Bakugou, who was grinning at him. "What, did you learn to control yourself? After all this time?"

Danny internally cursed from in the foliage. This was what he'd been fearing; a confrontation between the two of them where he couldn't do anything about the situation. Sure, he could hit Tokoyami's unprotected back, but Bakugou would simply keep talking if nothing else happened. Maybe if he shot _Bakugou_...

"Maybe I did."

Bakugou tilted his head, barking out a, "Haah!? What you mean by that, stupid nerd?"

Midoriya glanced at the trees, hoping to catch sight of Danny. The small green glow emitting from behind Tokoyami was enough proof he was there. Watching. Waiting. Listening.

"I was never in control," he snapped back. "You always yelled at me, picked on me, and bossed me around. For all my life, I let it happen." He stared harder, completely forgetting about Uraraka, Tokoyami and Danny as he did. "I've always followed you around, and I'll always keep doing that. And that's on me. But I am _not_ going to stand around anymore while you do all those things to me."

Bakugou was at a loss for words as the kid that had let everything happen to him for over a decade suddenly had the guts to talk back. "What the hell?" he managed to exclaim angrily. The Damn Nerd has grown a spine in these past few days, and he knew exactly what had caused that.

He'd get Fenton later.

"So, Kacchan," Midoriya said, a challenging tone not escaping the others' notice, "are you gonna do something, or what?"


	15. Woods (3)

_"What did you want to talk about?"_

_Midoriya stood in the gallery of the apartment complex, leaning with his arms on the railing as he looked out over the city. Danny was next to him in a similar position, though he seemed to be more tense than he normally was._

_"Nothing in particular, actually..."_

_Midoriya shot him a look._

_"Don't go all sassy on me, I get it!" Danny defended himself with faux intimidation. His gaze shifted back to the town, where the late Monday-sun was setting. "Maybe I_ ** _did_** _want to talk about something in particular..."_

_"It was kind of obvious when you rang the doorbell saying you wanted to talk," Midoriya said. "Outside, where my mom could not hear us, without Sam and Tucker... I thought you three did_ **_everything_ ** _together."_

_"It's kind of personal and I figured you don't want people to know..."_

_Midoriya immediately panicked. Had he figured him out? All Might? One For All? He never should've told Bakugou out loud in the open like that. What would All Might think!? Would he have to give up One For All? Could he even_ ** _do_** **_that_**? _Was—"_

_"It's about...Bakugou."_

_Midoriya lost some of the tense feeling in his shoulders and his anxiety die down, but it was immediately replaced with something he couldn't quite describe... Guilt? Shame? Embarrassment?_

_While Midoriya was contemplating life besides him, Danny sighed. "About today? With the sparring?" At seeing Midoriya nod, he continued. "I was thinking about how the two of you get along and an answer to the "why" part of the question. Is it true you call him Kacchan since you were kids?"_

_"How'd you know?"_

_"Lucky guess," Danny lied. "You two seem familiar, but not in a friendly kind of relationship. Want to elaborate?"_

_Midoriya looked at his hands as they clenched around the metal bars of the railing. "I kind of don't, but I'm guessing you're not letting go of this any time soon, are you?"_

_"Nope."_

_"It's...complicated. I know they say that all the time, but this..." He sighed as he unclenched his fists and let his hands rest on the railing. "We've known each other since we were...about three, maybe four. Friends, I think. He'd get in trouble with that confident smile and I'd follow him every single time he had a new plan. That confidence...as a four year old, you look up to that."_

_"He changed."_

_"N-No! I don't think he changed. He's still the same human being," Midoriya jumped in. "He didn't change_ **_drastically_ ** _, anyway. We still played together, but..." He sighed and hung lower over the railing. "I followed, he didn't want me to, but I kept doing it. For reasons."_

_"So he gets to boss you around."_

_"He's not bossing me around," Midoriya frowned. "He's—"_

_"Bossing you around!" Danny exclaimed. Midoriya blushed in embarrassment and looked away, but Danny wasn't backing down. "You let yourself get told off, beaten up, tossed around like you're_ ** _below_** _him. Like you're some expandable doll that he gets to play with, and as soon as your stitches break you get thrown out. But_ **_you_** _stitch yourself together and waddle right back into his playing room! You might not be noticing it, but you're a_ ** _toy_** _in his eyes. Midoriya, you're not! You said it yourself. 'He's still the same human being.'" Danny's voice turned into a whisper._

_"Aren't you as well?"_

Though Midoriya had not been completely agreeing with Danny then, he understood what he'd meant. Danny wasn't chastising him running after Bakugou at all, but putting up with the shit he did to him.

Bakugou huffed with a smirk as Midoriya's stare hardened. "Really, Nerd? That all you got?"

"Oh he's got plenty more."

Bakugou cursed as a mist started spreading over the floor, rolling over the ground until it was up to their knees. "What the hell is this stuff?"

"Leave this place or I'll shoot her," Midoriya threatened, tightening the grip on the handle and abandoning the subject for now. His finger got dangerously close to pulling the trigger as he softly jabbed it into Uraraka's back.

Bakugou started at the mist as realisation hit him. This was Fenton's doing as well, wasn't it? "Oi! Nerd number two! I assume you took out the others?" he yelled into the trees.

"Why Bakugou, such smart deductions," Danny chuckled. The echo in his voice made Bakugou frown through his glare. "Yeah they're out. Took a little longer than expected, but still."

"Leave or I'll shoot," Midoriya reminded him.

Bakugou looked at Tokoyami, the forest, the mist and Midoriya before coming to a decision. He raised his gun back up and looked Midoriya straight in his eyes. "Don't bother."

Uraraka's vest changed to red.

"...Uraraka's been hit..!" All Might announced. "You may leave the premises." He sounded surprised, but not in a positive way. He watched the monitors closely as Uraraka left through a tunnel that appeared in the mist, mumbling... _things_ under her breath.

"It's two against two, now," Bakugou said. "Let's finish this."

Dark Shadow was only barely fast enough to block the shot Danny fired from behind Tokoyami, having turned to only protect Tokoyami from Midoriya, and swiveled around him to absorb the infra-red. Tokoyami rolled to the side, coming to a halt behind Bakugou, standing back to back with him. Dark Shadow formed a circle around the two, creating a shield. "I can't see him, _and_ he's too fast," he muttered angrily as he looked around the edge of the clearing, where mist was forming a barricade. He could've _sworn_ he saw something move on his left.

"You worry about Fenton," Bakugou huffed. He grinned as he saw Midoriya pale, being completely vulnerable without his 'shield'. "I'll take care of _this_ one."

Midoriya yelped as he was pulled back into the fog by his hood. He could _hear_ Bakugou and Tokoyami being confused behind the curtain of mist and grinned at Danny, who smiled sheepishly at him as apology. He mouthed a _'thanks'_ and stood back up. At this point, they were completely free-styling it. Their plan had never included Uraraka getting taken out, but now that they were here, it offered multiple options.

"You damn nerds!"

"We gotta move," Danny said silently as he pulled Midoriya along. "Dark Shadow's gonna be a problem. We're never gonna hit anyone if he keeps on moving like that."

"So we take out Tokoyami so Dark Shadow can't protect them anymore," Midoriya muttered as they came to a halt behind a thicker tree. "But how can we take out Tokoyami so Dark Shadow can't protect them anymore? It's a loop."

Danny nodded as he looked through the mist. He could see the two move, but only slightly. He turned back to Midoriya, saying, "He absorbs the light, right?"

"I think that's what he does."

"So it's like a battery," Danny concluded. "Tokoyami might be the source, but Dark Shadow has his own energy limit. And if we overload that..."

"We render him unable to use his Quirk!" he smiled happily at having figured out a plan, but frowned as he continued. "There's one problem, though. If we want to 'overload' Dark Shadow, we're going to need a lot of energy, and the guns don't exactly shoot huge amounts. We don't have enough energy."

Danny smirked slyly and held up his hand. Midoriya's eyes widened as it lit up with green flame-looking energy.

"We do."


	16. Woods (4)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> join the discord server and get some inside scoops and have fun with other readers
> 
> https://discord.gg/nkXhRt3

"I don't like this situation," Tokoyami muttered as he swiveled around again as he thought he saw something move... _again._ "They clearly have an advantage over us. They know our Quirks and we have no idea what Fenton's is."

"It doesn't matter as long as I can get close enough to blow him to bits."

Tokoyami shook his head, Dark Shadow agreeing with him. "All you need to do is hit him with the gun, not blow him to bits, Bakugou."

"Don't tell me what to do, Birdbrain!"

Tokoyami didn't have time to be offended as Dark Shadow suddenly shook in pain. He was forced on his knees by... _something,_ and had to gasp for air. He figured it was the hit, but he couldn't be sure. Looking over to Dark Shadow, the green energy crackled back at him.

"What the hell was that!?"

Unable to answer, Tokoyami merely retracted Dark Shadow to try and get the remaining energy back into his own body so he could move. Moving slowly so he wouldn't hurt himself, he stood back up using the side of a tree. "No idea where that came from," Tokoyami panted. "Or _what_ it was. I thought his Quirk was that stupid mist."

"You guessed wrong."

"Tokoyami's been hit!"

He looked down in shock at his vest and closed his eyes in annoyance as the green light changed to red. He looked at Bakugou, who was stuck between screaming at him for getting hit and yelling that it wasn't fair. "Don't blow them up and don't lose," Tokoyami said before turning to the edge of the clearing. The fog retracted so that it left a tunnel, and Tokoyami gaped as it closed right behind him.

He got to the outside of the closed-off circle and found Fenton staring at him. Danny put his hand forward and offered a small smile. "Sorry about hitting you like that. You were amazing back there."

Tokoyami let out a little smile and shook his hand. "You were not so bad yourself."

Danny gave a small wave before running into the mist, leaving Tokoyami to walk back to the outside of the training area. He heard Bakugou using explosions —probably to move around— and sped up. Cringing at the sensation, Danny thought about how long he had had held up the mist around the clearing. In _Human_ form, nonetheless.

He turned invisible and sneaked into the clearing. The lasers Bakugou was being shot at with were coming from one place this second, and the next from the total opposite direction. Danny was impressed with Midoriya's speed and agility —sneaking around with that speed was _hard_.

Danny didn't want to know why Midoriya could run that fast.

"Damn you, Deku!" Bakugou yelled as he came to a halt, huffing in exhaustion. He could feel his palms throbbing in pain, having made way too many explosions within the span of a few minutes. "I could do this for longer, but it's getting old real fast!"

Danny looked at the unmoving teen and at his gun. It would be so easy to shoot him right here right now, but...

"Same goes for this mist!" he yelled, swiping at the gray clouds. "Sneaking around might give someone the impressions of a villain!"

Midoriya barely had time to think 'hypocrite' before the blue and gray fogs were sucked up. It shot to his right, where he turned his head to. Danny stood at the edge of the clearing, the mist slowly seeping around and through his fingers.

"Comparing me to a villain is something I wouldn't do, Bakugou," he said as he tightened the hold around his gun, trying _very_ hard to suppress the urge to let his eyes glow. "Gives me _serious_ anger-management issues. But I'm guessing you know all about those."

Bakugou huffed and tapped is fingers against the gun in his right hand. "I'm going to let that one pass, but just because I want to finish this." He raised his left hand and let small sparks fly off of his palm. "You're either completely stupid or very confident when you make a move like that. I'm kind of hoping it's the latter."

Danny rolled out of the way as the tree he was standing in front of exploded, Bakugou having made his move already. The mist seeped from his hands and onto the floor, creating a small sphere of fog around his feet. He raised his gun. "It's in the DNA."

Bakugou jumped up and avoided getting hit, shooting his own gun as he sailed over Danny, who sprinted to the other edge of the clearing. The ten-second pause between two shots was starting to annoy him. He counted the seconds down in his head as Bakugou landed and tried to fire again, cursing as the gun didn't do what he wanted it to do.

Midoriya was trying to stop shaking so he could shoot Bakugou, but his fingers wouldn't stop moving on their own accord. The plan had never been planned this far! This was complete improvisation, making this up as they went. But surely, they had noticed he was sitting somewhere out of sight, right?

This was his chance! Winning an exercise, even without using One For All, and against _Kacchan_ nonetheless. This was it!

Another explosion shook him out of his train of thought. He peeked over the bushes and saw Danny holding his right arm with his left hand. Even though Midoriya didn't see what happened, the results were pretty clear.

"Gettin' overconfident is never a good thing," Bakugou scolded Danny as he smirked at him. "You were sloppy from the moment you came here. Talking before attacking, giving away your location, sacrificing yourself, playing high and mighty..." He stepped closer to the teen that was now half on the ground and grabbed the dropped gun from the ground. "Defeated by your own weapon."

The lights changed to red.

"Pathetic."

"Fenton's been hit! You may leave the premises."

Danny used the tree behind him to stabilize himself as he gritted his teeth. He rested his back against the wood and smirked down at Bakugou, who was unnerved by it. "Acting high and mighty who?"

Bakugou's eyes widened, but he hadn't even turned around or his vest was glowing red.

"Bakugou's been hit!"

Midoriya stood on the other side of the clearing, a gun in his hands as he lowered his arms, grinning like a maniac. Danny smirked back at him. "Good shot!" Midoriya shrugged and happily bounced over to his teammate. "Awesome improvisation," Danny said as he gave him a high-five.

Bakugou stood three feet away as they exchanged praises, his palms getting dangerously close to exploding the two right there, right then. ' _What just happened?'_ he thought as he saw the two celebrating their... _victory. A_ gainst _him_. This wasn't happening, no. Completely not. Bakugou wasn't allowing it. It was all fake. He'd go home, eat some curry, and go to bed, so it would all be over tomorrow.

He narrowed his eyes as Midoriya and Fenton walked up to him. He hesitated to take Fenton's hand, but shook it anyway. "Don't count on winning against me again, Nerd Number Two," he said, before scoffing at Midoriya and walking out of the clearing, hands in his pockets and head between his shoulders.

Midoriya's eyes were wide during the exchange, and he couldn't help but awe at Danny's effect on Bakugou. The American was actually positively influencing the explosive blond. He didn't know how, but Danny seemed to have a calming effect on _everyone_. Even on him.

Danny hissed in pain as he poked at the burned skin on his arm.

Midoriya snapped out of his internal mumbling mess and gasped. "Danny! You should be on your way to Recovery Girl, right now!"

"Don't worry about it," Danny reassured him before putting his other hand over the skin and applying a thin layer of frost. "I know a thing or two about first aid."

Midoriya didn't ask.


	17. Talking

Sam scolded Danny enough that he'd have her lecture on a constant loop in his head when they got back to the exit. She and Tucker had been hit early on in the match, thus having followed some of the fights over the screens. It had been futile, of course, since Danny's habit of hiding in the mist had become even greater since the last fight. Tucker was praising Midoriya while Danny's head was being bashed in by the goth.

Midoriya had been kind of awestruck as he looked at Sam. She had zero shame in telling Danny off, and her confidence was, to put it simply, quite present. He thought Tucker was a laid-back kind of guy, though he could be serious if he wanted. His paranoia in making sure he was alright after the training, as well as Danny during the lecture, was almost endearing.

Danny was on a whole other level. He combined the traits of his two friends, being both the teen that went on crazy adventures, as well as the mom-friend, making sure everybody was in line and feeling good. Midoriya didn't have a clue as to how he managed it, but he figured asking would be...weird.

"No more mist!" Sam continued, ignoring All Might's soft and hesitant pleas to get back to the main building. "Next time, I wanna see what kind of shit you're doing. Understand?"

"Yes, Samantha."

He ran for his life.

"Dude, she's so... _awesome_ ," Kirishima told Kaminari.

"Agreed," he nodded back.

Tucker triple-checked if Midoriya would be okay with Uraraka and Iida before making his way over to the boys talking about his friend, where he just picked up on Sero joining in the conversation. "I wonder how Fenton is going to live through her wrath, though. She didn't seem happy when he called her Samantha."

"Dude," Tucker cut in, softly tapping Sero's shoulder, "don't let her catch you calling her that. She'll murder you on the spot."

"Oh! You're...Foley, right?" Kirishima asked. "I don't think we've introduced ourselves. I'm Kirishima."

"Kaminari."

"Sero."

"Foley, but please, call me Tucker."

"Alright! So tell us, how'd you three end up here?" Kaminari asked, intrigued. "Surely, there's some juice behind it. It's not everyday you see three foreigners join."

"I'm sure I would have to disappoint you with the amount of tea in the story," Tucker said with a shrug. "You train here, you take the exam there, and the next thing you know, you're being recommended here."

"Wow, you got in on recommendation?" Sero asked. "You gotta be really powerful! What's your Quirk?"

"Magnetism."

"That's so flashy," Kirishima groaned. "I wish I had something more suited for the real stuff. I mean, I turn into _rocks_."

"At least you don't deep-fry your brain while you're at it," Kaminari jumped in. He turned to Tucker to add, "My Quirk's Electricity. If I use too much, I turn into some idiot. One out of ten, do not recommend."

"Ah, Tucker!" Sam walked up to the group, dragging a half-conscious Danny behind her. "Making new friends? Don't replace us."

"Replace us!?" came the intelligent remark from Danny as he turned to look at Sam. "Are we being replaced?"

"Of course not," she said as she squished his cheeks. "I wouldn't let him." The threat seemed to reach all boys and she smiled victoriously at them, still ignoring All Might behind her. She pointed at herself and Danny. "I'm Sam, this is Danny."

"...Hi."

"Is no one going to listen to me..?" All Might sighed as they went on with their conversation. He could see Aizawa standing nearby in the shadows, amused by his inability to get the students to move. Why wouldn't they listen to him!? Surely, being _All Might_ , he'd have their attention in a split second, right? He straightened up after giving a final glance at Aizawa, who seemed to point at the class with his head. _'Go on,'_ he seemed to be saying, _'be a teacher.'_ He cleared his throat. "Last one in the building has clean-up duty."

They all raced back as Aizawa just sighed.

***_*_*_*_***

Tucker was the last one. Of course, Sam and Danny joined him on his quest to tackle all bacteria in the classroom, so they could walk home together. Midoriya had wanted to help at first as well, but Danny had said they'd be fine. Recovery Girl had...done her thing with his arm, so Danny was feeling _great,_ despite the fatigue. Fast healing because of his Ghost half _and_ a Quirk? He was lucky. Sam wasn't happy when he literally _bounced_ back to the classroom, and she planned on having a talk with Bakugou later. Surely, the school would also do something, right? Unnecessary harming if another student would be punished.

"You still gotta tell us the details of that last part of the exercise, man," Tucker said softly as he swept the dust together on a pile. He kept his volume low, so Aizawa —who had fallen asleep behind his desk-thing in his sleeping bag like a caterpillar— wouldn't wake up because of their talking. "I mean, I get you took out, what, four of them? Too bad we couldn't see it. I'm sure it was _awesome_."

"Not _that_ much," Danny answered with a slight shrug. He was working on the top of the desks with a wet towel and a dry one. "I mean, I do the mist thing, they get confused, I sneak around and shoot. Simple as that." Not entirely true, since his Human form couldn't bear that much energy, but he didn't need them fussing about him, though he could already see Sam's gaze of worry on him. She knew him too well to know he was lying, but she didn't say anything. He have her a dismissive wave. _'Talk later.'_

She got the message and got back to her work.

***_*_*_*_***

"Why'd you lie?"

Danny didn't immediately answer and wanted to instead keep doing what he was doing. The near-empty pocket dimension they were in was the perfect place to get rid of expandable energy or avoid his friends, so the latter was a motivator to enter. "Did I actually lie, though? The steps aren't that hard. _Execution_ of those steps takes work, so technically, I didn't lie."

She sighed and sat down besides him, trying to catch his gaze. "You know what I mean," she said in a scolding tone. "You don't want us to worry, do you? Don't even try an excuse on me, I can see right through you. You don't need to protect us all the time, you know that? We can handle ourselves. We might be... _inexperienced_ , with 'Quirks', Powers, or whatever you want to call it, it we're handling them fine for as far as I know."

"I know you can handle it," Danny said, "but that won't stop me from worrying. I've been hovering over you guys in protection for nearly three years, and it's been kind of set in my mind. I can't just...turn it off. And you're handling them so well because you got a great teacher at your disposal." A slap to the back of his head made him laugh. "Okay, I'm sorry. But you gotta admit it helped."

"Perhaps," Sam mused as she opened her hand. A small purple rose bloomed in her palm, and she looked at it with a dreamy gaze. "I used to think that if I ever got a superpower, it'd be destructive. With me avoiding the 'positivity' my parents radiated, the stuff I read, things I was interested in... And then with Undergrowth, I actually had a chance to prove I could _create._ Look how that turned out..."

Danny watched how she plucked the small flower and handed it to him with a sad smile. He accepted it and looked at it before looking back at Sam. "I gave you a rose as well, remember? Mine was ice, but I like this better." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into his side. "You got another chance to prove you were right. Make the most of it, because you're probably not going to get a third one, trust me. You have the power —now all you have to do is make it yours."


	18. Conference

The weekends consisted of training.

School days consisted of paying attention.

After-school hours consisted of planning.

Evenings consisted of _sleeping_.

Homework was crammed somewhere between that.

In short; they were exhausted.

If Aizawa noticed, he didn't say anything. If Tucker nodded off during his lecture about basic hero training, he let it slide. If Sam rested her head on her hands and looked at him with tired eyes, he avoided her gaze. If Danny was sloppy during the training exercises with All Might, he didn't bring it up with the other teachers.

Only Nezu.

"All I'm saying is that they are overworking themselves," Aizawa sighed as he stood in front of the principal. "They seem tired, nod off during class, are sloppy during the physical exercises and look like they don't sleep. _At all_. I'm concerned for their well-being and fear that it will only worsen in the upcoming month."

"We cannot have that, of course," Nezu chirped back. "Perhaps you should voice your concern to the children, hmm? I will call for them for an afternoon meeting. Yes, I suppose I will do just that. Thank you for your attentiveness."

Aizawa couldn't protest as he was practically forced out of the office by social etiquette, grumbling things in his mind as he walked down the halls and into the staff room. He ignored the other people in the room as he filled a cup with coffee and plopped down behind a computer, tiredly logging in and checking his mail and possible memos. Before he knew it, the school day had ended and the announcement rang over the audio-system. Aizawa trudged to the conference room and sat down in his chair, waiting for the three teens to finally show up.

The pleasantries, introductions and start of the meeting flew completely over Aizawa's head. He knew the kids, he knew All Might, who had stumbled into the room last minute saying it also concerned his students, and he didn't have the energy to deal with it, so he sat back and watched how it all sailed by. It wasn't until Nezu voiced his worries that he paid attention.

"What do you mean you want us to notch it down?" Danny semi-exploded at the principal. "We're handling everything, are we not? Why this sudden restraint? Aren't we capable enough, or something? It's a bit of a shame, since we're already _here_."

"Danny, calm down!" Sam hissed at him, sending worried glances at the principal. He merely looked back her, his expression unreadable. "You're being rude, so cut it out! You're overstaying your hospitality and being impossible to handle."

"But _Sam_ ," he whined, but he was shut up as she pointed at him.

"Not. Another. _Word_."

"I must say I understand Danny's worry," Nezu interrupted Sam. "It is, after all, his _thing_ , am I right?"

Danny hunched in on himself, feeling _very_ exposed. Aizawa was confused as to what the comment meant to the teen, but didn't ask as Tucker cleared his throat. "We'll make sure he won't do anything stupid, principal Nezu. And mister Aizawa and All Might too, of course. And we'll try to 'rest' some as well."

"Glad to hear it!" All Might exclaimed. "You're already working hard on both your studies and the Foundational Hero Studies, so you need to wind down every once in a while!" He glanced around the room and hesitated. "If...you don't mind me asking, what is this _'thing'_ you mentioned?"

Danny's chair made a scraping sound on the floor as he stood up and gave a _terrif_ _ying_ glare to All Might and giving a small bow to Nezu, saying, "Excuse me," before he angrily stormed out of the office. Tucker and Sam shared a glance before Tucker stood as well and followed after Danny. Sam put her head in her hand and stared All Might down without a readable expression on her face, making him shrink into himself, wondering what he'd done wrong.

"We don't talk about the 'thing'," Sam said as she took her hand away from her face and sat up straight. "That's why we say 'thing' in the first place. Perhaps a warning would've been in order, but I had assumed it would remain undiscussed. You must excuse Danny for snapping like that. It's...a touchy subject, principal Nezu. I should also say that he's trying to catch his cool at the moment instead of setting the school ablaze."

"I am aware and thank him for containing his temper. Please tell him that."

"I will, thank you." Sam also gave a small bow to Nezu, shot an annihilating glance at All Might and a quick look at Aizawa, who was thoroughly enjoying himself. It was, after all, not every day someone could be so (semi) passive aggressive towards the Number One Hero, so getting it live, in real life, was making him undeniably humored. He gave a near invisible nod back in recognition of her ability with words and demeanor just before she turned around and left the room.

***_*_*_*_***

"You can't just ask someone what their 'thing' is!" Danny was pacing up and down on the small plaza in front of the school, within the gates. Tucker sat on one of the benches with their backpacks, just looking at his friend going off. "It's a 'thing', for goodness sake. We say _thing_. Is he too dense to catch up on that?"

"All Might?" Sam filled in as she walked up to the two. "He's pretty stubborn if you ask me. I'm guessing all that fake buff also went into his skull." She tapped at her head as she gave a glance at Tucker. "Thick as hell."

Danny chuckled a bit and rolled his eyes. "When you put it like that... But still, it was a bit rude of you, to basically cuss at the Number One Hero like that."

"He's got that number, but that doesn't make an excuse for _him_ being rude to _you_. He's number one, so isn't he supposed to be the best?"

"He's just human, Sam."

"Still. The 'best human' should know better."

"It's fine," Danny said as he grabbed his backpack from Tucker's bench and slung an arm over Sam's shoulders, smiling at her. "We'll talk it out later. He's gotta have a conscience. Mine's already buzzing."

"It can wait 'til Monday," Tucker said as he stretched and slung an arm over Danny's shoulders. "We gotta figure some things out this weekend. No intensive training sessions, but little tests here and there. Just because All Might asked about the _thing_ doesn't mean he wasn't right about the other things."

"Agreed. I need sleep," Sam yawned. "Oh, by the way, Nezu says he's happy you didn't blow up the school."

"I'm gonna blow shit up at home," he said, dead-ass, without giving Sam or Tucker a second glance. "Also one of the reasons I made that stupid pocket-dimension."

"It's a nifty power you got, so why not use it?" Tucker asked as they walked out of the gates. The pocket-dimension was serving as a place for training with their Quirks while not on school grounds, just, _talking_ , but also a place to come to themselves without worrying about people coming in. "It's so _cool_."

"I'm creating dimensions, Tucker. Imagine how drained I am afterwards."

"He slept for a whole two days consecutively after he made yours' and the one we're keeping at the apartment," Sam cut in, turning from Tucker to Danny as she narrowed her eyes playfully. "For which I still have to scold him."

"We were in a time crunch."

"Could've asked Clockwork," she shrugged.

"...crap."

Tucker burst out laughing as Sam smirked at Danny, who was walking with his head low, having been a complete idiot. "Man, I love this universe."


	19. Tea and Hugs

"I got tea!"

Danny whooped in joy as Sam walked in the pocket-dimension, holding a tray with tea and cookies. "Yesss, I've been waiting for this," he said as he reached out to the tray that was being put on the floor.

Sam slapped his hand away. "You'll burn yourself! It's too hot!"

"Like Danny?"

"Shut _up_ , Tucker."

Said teen shrugged as he victoriously looked over the two lovebirds, who were both blushing like crazy. "All I'm saying is that you think that," he said as he let three of his marbles float in circles above his palm.

"Tuck, what are you doing!?" Danny hissed.

"No fighting, boys," Sam scolded as she sat down on the pillow on the floor. She shook her head at the two playfully scowling at each other and sighed. "Tucker, please leave this for some other time. We gotta talk business, not love lives."

"We're saving that for later, then?"

"We're a little short on details," Sam continued without giving Tucker a second glance, "but we _do_ know we need to be ready in a month. Clockwork said he cannot tell us much, but it's gonna be big. Tucker, put your marbles away or I swear I'll make you eat vegetables. Anyway, we need to get stronger."

"You and me for sure," Tucker sighed as he rolled onto his back, staring up in the black void they were in. "We haven't had much Quirk training at U.A. yet, and we're far from at our peaks."

"But we kinda promised we'd do less so we could ' _rest_ '," Danny said, heavily accenting his disgust of the word.

"We only said we'd keep you from doing anything stupid and that we'd _try_ to rest," Sam smirked as she took her cup and swirled the liquid in it around. "We never said we'd do less. Rest is not definable, since everybody does it in their own way. Maybe we rest while drinking tea or training."

"Devious as always."

Sam 'hmm'ed in agreement as she sipped her tea.

"Let's get to it, then!"

"Drink your tea first!"

***_*_*_*_***

Danny was rolling around on his fake cloud, trying to get Tucker to get back to work. "Come on, Tucker. You can do better than that!" He gestured at Sam, who was experimenting with different kinds of plants and which she could actively use in battle. Up until now, lily pads were proving to be most effective, both as transport and cover. "Sam's been busy for an hour and you've been doing things for 15 minutes. Spit spot!"

"Calm down Ms. Poppins," Tucker groaned as he rolled on his belly and pushed himself up with his hands. "Where's your training, huh? You got full control over that mist of yours yet?" he asked as he dusted himself off and looked up at a Danny, who was floating in the air. He'd been up there for some time, just yelling 'encouragement' at Tucker, who was getting a bit worked up.

Danny shrugged as he hung on his back, arms behind his head. "I'd say I'm getting the hang of it," he said.

"You need more than just mist, you know," Sam said from her spot. "Distractions and cover aren't going to be doing the trick. You need attacks as well, a real cover, or transport or agility. You're not going to be able to rely on being hidden all the time."

"Wanna test that theory?" he mock-challenged her.

Sam rolled her eyes and dropped her control over her plants before walking over to them. "Sure. Why not."

Tucker and Danny shared a glance before Danny lowered himself onto the ground through his blue creation. "Are you sure, though?" He fidgeted with his glove as she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "N-not that you're incapable or something, but I'm just... You only had this for a few weeks, and me for nearly three years. It's not fair."

"You stick to your mist and I get to use everything, how's that not fair? I'd say we're even like that."

Tucker smirked at the two, who looked back at him. "I'm guessing I'm referee, then?"

"I...I guess," Danny mumbled before taking some steps away from Sam, who stretched her arms above her head and grinned at him. "Try not to enjoy it too much. I'll figure a way around this one-Quirk problem soon," he said before also getting in position.

"Do we have a name for this fight or do I just say 'go'?"

"Tucker!"

"Alright, _alright_! Go! Or whatever."

A vine sprouted from the floor just before Sam's feet and shot its way across the 'field' towards Danny's hands, wrapping it around them to immobilize him. The mist he tried to make disappeared within the air, with him unable to make more because of his surprise. "Are you serious?"

"Not all the time," she said as she made the plant wrap itself further along his arms, rendering him immobile for the time being. She smirked victoriously as he struggled against the vine, unable to break through, and slowly walked towards him, her steps seemingly mocking him. "Can't get out without powers? That's a shame."

Tucker was suddenly gifted with the ability to momentarily foresee the future and got out while he could.

Danny somehow managed to get a hold of himself again and started making mist. A _lot_ of it. Sam waved her hands around to try and maintain sight, but the cold air was too much to merely wave away. She was stuck in a contained cloud, and Danny was somewhere in it. She could still 'feel' the vine's grip on him, but... _Aaand_ it was gone. Great. Just fantastic. He managed to get out and she had _no_ idea where he was. She swirled around as the air moved behind her and regretted _everything_.

" _Even game?_ "

"Alright, I'm sorry!" she yelled back. There was no vocal answer, but the two glowing green spots in front of her told her more than enough. "Okay, you figured something out. I'm proud of you. Enough?" Yet again, she was met with silence, but the green lights disappeared, and the air moved around her. Apparently he wasn't satisfied yet. "What do you want me to say, Danny? I said sorry, I acknowledged you're more than capable... there's nothing else for me to say!"

Her arms were grabbed. She turned, but was pushed back, landing on the floor. Her arms got pinned above her head, and Danny was suddenly straddling her waist, grinning down at her. "They don't know my powers if they can't see me do it."

She smiled back in amusement. "Okay, okay. You're right. Guess I hadn't thought of that."

"Are you calling me smart?"

"I never said you were smart." The grip on her wrists tightened, making her squirm. "Okay, okay! You're _inventive_!"

"Close enough," he said as he let go of her arms and crossed his own. "People rely on sight, most of the time, so if they can't see me..."

"You can do whatever the hell you want. Good point," she sighed. "Can you like...get off, now?"

"No."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

Why was he being like this? Picking 'fights' and making all these corny as shit jokes? Seeking out...physical contact? Is that why he was reluctant to move? Sure, back in Amity he had had Jazz and his mother to constantly pester him with hugs and random hair-tousles, but ever since they left... Had he...been touch-starved? Danny merely shrugged. Sam bit her lip. "Do you...want a hug?"

"Oh _God_ yes," he muttered as he pulled her from the ground and wrapped his arms around her, locking her in an embrace. Sam rolled her eyes before closing them and hugging back.


	20. Sparring (2)

Hero Foundational Studies was a class in which students were exposed to training their Quirks, possible problems they would face or entire scenarios they had to assess and overcome. Every single day would have a new exercise in store, switching from battles, to rescue, to sparring.

" _Aaand_ we're doing the same thing."

Sam rolled her eyes at Tucker's exclamation of both boredom and frustration. "It's not the same," she said. "This is sparring _with_ Quirks, mind you."

"And duo's are made by the teacher," Danny grumbled. He was the only one complaining, because he was paired with _Bakugou_ of all people. On one hand, it would be a great opportunity, but on the other, he was at a great disadvantage. Sure, he could pummel the guy if he went full-out, but he couldn't go full out, because he had a cover to maintain. "I can't fight him like this! I have only one thing, and that's "Energy"," he whisper-shouted. He facepalmed as they came to a halt in front of one of the fields. "I'm so stupid."

"You couldn't have done much different," Tucker said in an attempt to make Danny feel better. "Remember what would happen if you revealed yourself."

"Don't wanna think about it, Tuck," he pressed as he watched how Bakugou was eyeing him from the other side of the field. "And please don't act like you're my Pokémon trainer."

"But it's so _tempting_."

Danny ignored his friends as he stepped into the outlines of the field. Energy, energy. How the hell was he going to fight in here with energy!? The room was too big to "fog up", too small to use big attacks and too crowded to actually use his powers. And he couldn't even use half of those things.

He was stuck.

"Getting nervous, Fenton!?"

Last names, great. Just what he needed. "Don't count on it, Bakugou!" he yelled back, getting in a comfortable position. He could do this. Faux confidence was his forte. He could fool a fifteen year old.

Bakugou raised an amused eyebrow.

Yeah, Danny was screwed.

The funny thing about the U.A. Sparring matches during the training was that there were little rules. No massive attacks, no knock-outs, and so on, but that was it. Being caught doing one of those would result in a heavy punishment...

 _If_ you got caught.

Luckily for Danny, All Might had decided he was going to watch this particular match. Bakugou was also limited in his attacks. Somewhere deep down, Danny's thoughts made him believe All Might was giving him payback for their last encounter, but Danny quickly dropped the thought. The man was nice, thoughtful, and not someone to make use of his position to get what he wanted.

And yet here they were. Bakugou in front of him. His friends at the sidelines. Midoriya watching. All Might refereeing. Danny near shaking of stress.

"Begin!"

Oh, he was so dead.

Bakugou put his arms backwards Naruto-style and propelled himself forwards, just like he'd done during the QAT. Danny had predicted the move and dove out of the way, only barely avoiding being blasted to bits. He shot a panicked glance at the sidelines, where Midoriya was muttering strategies —?— and his friends were shooting him panicked looks.

"Tune it down a notch," All Might scolded slightly from the sidelines.

' _Please don't turn into rule-abiding Clockwork_.' Danny had no time finishing his plea as Bakugou came at him with a right hook. Danny threw his arms up in an 'X' and blocked the majority of the heat coming at him. Manoeuvring his arms out of the grip, he moved them back and shoved Bakugou away from him, creating both time and some space.

How in the world was he going to do this? Mist was useless, and other powers like invisibility, intangibility and flight were out of the question. He panicked as Bakugou recovered from the shock of being put on the ground and glared at him. ' _Come on, think!'_

"Come on, do something!" Bakugou taunted as he walked towards Danny.

' _Mist. Fog. I called it energy_ ,' Danny thought in a rush. ' _Energy means movement, charge. Ready to strike...'_

He came closer, already raising a fist with sparkles.

' _Load. Charge. Hold. Release. Block...'_

An explosion rang in his ears just after.

Bakugou frowned as his hand came in contact with something that wasn't his opponent. The smoke from the explosion blocked his sight and made his eyes tear up a bit. He waved it out of his way just as it started to clear and stared in surprise.

A green barrier.

Danny was on the other side, looking surprised and relieved, hands dropping besides his from trying to protect himself. He started grinning as he realised what he'd done.

Tucker's mouth was hanging open, just like Midoriya's. Sam had to focus to not start bouncing in her seat of joy. All Might was...staring. The other students had left their own fields and were also watching the fight, completely baffled. Wasn't his Quirk that mist?

"Energy!" Danny proclaimed, excitedly bouncing in place. He found a loophole! And a great one! Energy could appear in more forms than one, and now he had a perfect excuse for using shields. Plasma blasts. Ectoplasm.

His _Wail_.

Bakugou roared in frustration as he punched the wall separating the two, simultaneously looking for a way around it. No use, Fenton'd just move it sideways. But he seemed surprised at the appearance of the wall, so maybe it was a new application. Did he have control over it? The movement? The thickness? The wall in front of Bakugou was a good few inches thick, but not very sturdy-looking. It was half transparent, and small blobs of green shit were floating around in it. Not the best defense. Maybe it depended on how much energy and focus he had...

"Come on, Bakugou," Danny challenged as he waved at the teen to come at him. " _Do something_."

Something in Bakugou snapped.

"Come on Bakugou!" Kirishima yelled from the sidelines, Kaminari a little behind him. "Show him what you got!"

Bakugou grinned and gave a quick acknowledging nod at the redhead before looking back at Danny. "Oh I will." His arms, that were besides him, tensed up, and the explosions in his palms sent him flying upwards. Certain he saw Fenton pale, he propelled himself forward, right over the green barrier. The drop of a few ten feet was quickly covered as he pummeled towards the ground. On the last second, he shot explosions towards the ground, right on top of Danny.

He landed a few feet away, rolling to catch himself before he turned around, ready to fire again.

Danny stood under a small dome, surrounded by smoke. There was just no stopping this guy, was there? Unless... He smirked as he let his dome drop and focused on his ice-core, letting cold air seep through his fingers. The blue mist combined with the black smoke created a good curtain, making everyone unable to see what he was doing.

Again.

Sam groaned in both exasperation and amusement as she saw the two merge and start moving. "He's back at it. I'm starting to think it's his favorite strategy."

"But it's a viable one!" Midoriya's face flared up red as multiple people turned to look at him. "I-I mean... He's able to see through his own mist, r-right? He's very agile while moving through it, a-and doesn't hesitate before charging. He's obviously trained, or he has a lot of experience. And he has good control over it, as well..."

"Let me out you idiot!"

They turned to the battlefield, where Bakugou was stuck in one of Danny's domes, going off completely. He was exploding away in his confined space, and Danny was having a hard time keeping him contained. "Stop struggling! I got you!"

"Not anymore, soon!"

Sam rolled her eyes at the two and turned to All Might, who was lost in thought. "Sir? Shouldn't you call them off, or something?"

He startled a bit and turned to Sam, who raised an eyebrow. "Ah, yes, of course! My apologies." He turned to the field and walked up to the line, thirty feet away from the two. "Bakugou and Fenton, you may stop! Fenton won the match."

"Oh I'm not giving up," Bakugou muttered as he closed his eyes and readied his arms for a big blast.

Danny followed the instructions and let the dome fall, exhausted from keeping the shield up. He was about to turn to his friends.

Bakugou hadn't noticed the dome dropping and let his explosions fly. A torpedo of fire made its way over to an unsuspecting Danny, and no one was quick enough to react. All Might had seen the situation unfold and was already on the move to get Danny out of the way, but he wasn't quick enough.

Danny was hit.


	21. Recovery (2)

The doors to Recovery Girl's office were opened by a worried Sam, Tucker trailing behind her, trying to get her to calm down. She stared around the room before her eyes settled on muscle-form All Might. He seemed deep in thought as he stared into one of the closed-off beds, lines of worry on his face and hand on his chin.

"He should be fine soon," Recovery Girl said from somewhere behind the blue curtains. "I have no idea how fast he heals and how, but I'm going to let it pass. Also..." She walked into view and looked at All Might. "Another regular patient! How could you let this happen!?"

"Ah, sorry!" he exclaimed. "I tried to interrupt the explosion but I wasn't fast enough!"

Sam was reminded of Danny, somehow.

"I said I was sorry!"

Bakugou walked out of behind the other curtain, a bandage wrapped around his head. He spotted Sam and Tucker and 'tsk'ed before walking over to them.

"Bakugou."

"Samantha."

"You like playing it dangerous, huh?" Sam said as she crossed her arms and sized Bakugou up. "You do understand I'm not going to forget this anytime soon, right?"

"Noted," he grunted as he pushed past the two. He paused in the doorway.

"And...I'm sorry. For not looking before shooting."

Tucker turned to Sam with a confused expression as the door closed. "He _does_ care."

"Oh, he's a big softie alright," Recovery Girl said as she sat down on her chair. "He's been sitting besides that boy since they got in here, and kept asking questions if he would be fine." She turned the chair to look at the two anxious teens. "But you're not here to listen to me about Bakugou, are you?"

"No, ma'am."

She stared at them with a hard expression before sighing and nodding towards the beds with a small smile. "Go on, then."

Sam was the first to rush past All Might, who was back to his true form, rounding the curtain and coming face-to-face with one of her worst fears yet again. Tucker watched, having moved more slowly, how she settled next to the bed and took one of his bandaged hands in hers. "Man, we're lucky this place has good medics," he muttered to her as he took the chair next to the bed and oversaw the situation. Bandages everywhere, but no tubes, so that was good. He turned to the two heroes, asking, "What's the damage?"

"Burns, mostly," All Might muttered as he slowly itched closer. "His arms were really bad, but it's healing good. Some on his chest as well, but they're nearly all gone. He passed out from pain."

"And Bakugou?"

"He fell on his head from the backlash. Passed out as well, but wasn't hurt as bad. He'll be fine tomorrow."

Sam nodded absentmindedly as she stroked Danny's hair. What was it with him and getting hurt all the time? Sure, back home, he'd be protecting people and getting in fights all the time, but those were _Ghosts_. This was _training_. Against a _Human_. And he wasn't even aware of the danger. He had thought the fight was _over_. She turned to All Might and Recovery Girl, saying, "The only reason he's here is because of faulty communication and him being literally too strong for his own good. If he hadn't held up that shield for so damn long Bakugou would've broken it and this wouldn't have happened. Turns out being the strongest isn't always best."

"Awww, Sammy. Since when are you such a mushy person?"

Sam turned to Danny, who was sleepily smiling at her. "Since you make it impossible for me to _not_ be mushy. I mean, look at this. This _screams_ mushy."

"Aaahh?"

"Dude, go back to sleep," Tucker said. "You're not making sense. We'll be there when you wake up." He turned to Sam, who was nodding at him.

"...m'kay."

They waited for about a minute before sighing. "That was...surprisingly easy."

"I can only imagine how difficult he can be," Recovery Girl said as she rummaged through the cabinets. She took hold of a small container with pills and handed them to Sam. "Give him these when you get him back home. They should help him sleep better. The poor boy is exhausted."

"I'll try," Sam reassured her before handing them to Tucker, who stuffed them in the pockets of his pants. "He's not too keen on pills, but we'll figure something out."

"You better," Recovery Girl said as she went back to sit on her chair. "Now; it's past school-time, but I'm not seeing you leave without him. You can wait here until he wakes up again."

"Thanks a lot, Recovery Girl."

"Actually," All Might cut in before they could sit in the chairs in the room, "I was wondering if I could have a word with you, Saman— _Sam_." He pointed at the door with two hands, shuffling on his feet. "In the teachers' lounge?"

Sam glanced at Tucker, who was frowning in confusion, before shrugging and moving towards the door. "Lead the way, I guess." She followed him out of the office, further to the corners of the building before they finally entered the lounge. She spotted Aizawa sitting behind one of the computers, looking tired as ever with a coffee in hand, and Midnight —their art teacher— talking to someone over the phone. All the other teachers must've gone home already —which was unsurprising, since it was nearing 5 already.

"It's about the meeting from last week," All Might explained as they sat down on the office chairs. "Danny rushed off and seemed mad at me."

Sam rolled her eyes at the 'seemed'. "It's just a touchy subject for him. Bad experiences, some sort of... _bullying_ , to call it. Memories he doesn't want to remember. People he wanted to forget. There's a reason we said ' _thing_ ', you know."

"I was planning on apologizing to him later, but the circumstance didn't seem fit this morning. I would ask him what I'd done wrong, but...here we are." He cast his eyes downwards under Sam's scrutinize gaze. "...But he won't forgive me that easily, will he?"

She smiled a bit as he seemed to finally comprehend what he'd done. "He'll forgive you. It's just his nature, to forgive people if they've done something to him. _But_ it'll take time. He's under a lot of stress, so... Don't expect him to be all nice again tomorrow."

"Understood. Thank you, Sam."

"He's too selfless for his own good," she continued. "I did a little digging, and you two seem quite like each other. Always at the scene in minutes, even if there's other stuff to do in life. Saving people would be the number one priority, of course, and zero thoughts before jumping in without a proper plan. I'm pretty sure you know where I'm headed." She leaned with her forearms on her knees and stared intensely at the hero in front of him. "He'll see some older version of himself in you, so if _you_ mess up..." she stood from her chair and crossed her arms, looking elsewhere. "He's going to be scared." She pointed at him with a glare. "You mess up, you answer to me, got it?"

Midnight stared at the girl telling off All Might —who was looking _very small—_ before turning to Aizawa, who was actually _smiling_. "Is that usual for her?"

"Sam?" He turned to Midnight, face back into usual tired look. Like it needed clarification. "Oh she's like that against him all the time. Don't know what for, but I'm sure it's none of our business, _Nemuri_." He turned back to his computer. "Though it _is_ quite amusing, don't you think?"


	22. Friends (M)

Sero twirled his pencil around between his fingers, looking at the blue ink inside with newfound interest. Wondrous invention, ball pens... But he was mostly looking at it because he was bored. He dropped his head on the table and groaned, earning agreeing 'hmm's from Kaminari and Ashido. He lifted his head back up and placed his chin on the table. "Anything juicy?"

"Dry."

"Ain't got tea today, sir."

"What's up dudes!?" Kirishima bellowed as he walked into the classroom, responding to the annoyed looks of the others in the room with a sheepish smile. Only Bakugou and the three new people were still missing, as well as Aizawa. "What's got you looking so down?"

"We're all out of beans."

"You're bored," he clarified. He sat down in his own chair and smiled at the other three. "Out of gossip? Mina? No way. You just need a little push in the right direction, no?" At seeing Kaminari shrug and Mina sigh, he grinned as he leaned one elbow on the table and put his head in his hand. "Say...yesterday's training."

She perked up and suddenly seemed awake. "What, you mean Fenton? I'd forgotten about that already with the stress for my own battle! How could I? It was so brutal!" She excitedly turned to Sero. "You think he's going to be back soon?"

Sero shook his head. "No way he'll be back in action _today_. Did you see the way he was thrown back? Dude's unconscious in a hospital for _sure_. I mean, I would be."

Midoriya was tempted to cut in, but his direction was veered towards the door that opened.

"Did you see that beating he took?" Kaminari asked, baffled. "I'm swear— if Fenton shows up today, I'm going to eat my socks."

"Have a nice meal, Dunce Face!" Bakugou said as he stalked past them, followed by Sam and Tucker. Danny was last, and finger-gunned Kaminari. "Look before you make bets like that, idiot!" Bakugou yelled from his chair, high-fiving Danny as he passed him. 

Kaminari was yelled at by the rest of the class to get on with it because a swear was a swear, but they were interrupted by Aizawa rolling into the room and grunting that they were to calm down.

Uraraka, Tsuyu and Iida were first to shut up, followed by the area around them, and Kaminari, Sero, Kirishima and Ashido. The others had been silent beforehand.

As Aizawa calmed them down, Midoriya was... _so confused_ by what had happened. Bakugou and Danny were...friends, now? After yesterday? _Especially_ after yesterday? He gawked as Bakugou shared a knowing look with Sam and Tucker before turning to face Aizawa, ready to take notes. Danny, who was sitting behind him, was vibrating with joy.

It felt... strange.

***_*_*_*_***

As lunch rolled around, Midoriya was slow to pack up, leaving his classmates to walk into the hallways, chatting among themselves. Book after book after notebook disappeared into his yellow backpack, the black void seemingly gulping the information down with greed. 

Danny watched from behind his desk how Midoriya was zoning out as he packed up, and stood from his chair. "You okay?" he asked softly as he stepped into Midoriya's view. His startled yelp made Danny flinch. "Sorry, I shouldn't have jumped in front of you like that."

"I-it's fine!" he said, a little too quickly and too loud. He blinked at his own defensiveness and turned his head away shyly, zipping up his bag and hoisting it on his shoulder. "I should drop this off. See ya." He stalked past Danny, head between his shoulders. God, he just wanted to drop his backpack, get lunch, sit through the rest of the day and go home already. This day had been _way_ too demanding.

Unlike Midoriya had hoped, Danny was quick to react and took a few big steps to end up walking besides Midoriya towards the locker room. "You can talk to me about things that bother you. I wanna know if I did something wrong."

"But...you didn't do anything."

"So why were you running?"

Midoriya blinked and laughed. "I guess I was? Sorry. I'm still processing yesterday in my head with what happened. But-- S-shouldn't you be in bed? Resting?" Sam would probably kill Danny if he was ignoring Recovery Girl's instructions, but she seemed okay with Danny being in class. Not that that made Midoriya less anxious. "I don't mean to tell you what to do or anything!" he added quickly. "It's just--"

"I'm fine, really," Danny said as they rounded a corner. "Recovery Girl gave me the A-okay for leaving the infirmary and I was allowed to go to class as long as I was careful and didn't do anything stupid."

"I know what you mean," Midoriya smiled.

Danny rolled his eyes with a small smile as he pointed to Midoriya's bag still clutched in his arms. "Put it away and then lunch?" Midoriya just nodded and was quick to drop off his backpack, leaving them to talk as they walkedto the cafeteria. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

"Don't try that on me," Danny said, a hint of authority in his voice even though he stayed reassuring. "I'd rather have you tell me you don't want to talk than lie to me."

"S-sorry..."

He shrugged. "It's no sweat. Personal boundaries and crap; you don't wanna talk, I'm not gonna push." Oh but how he was pushing in the meantime. Confronting him, cornering him, making him feel indebted —Danny was on a subconscious roll of making his way into Midoriya's mind. "But know that I'm here to listen, okay? Sam and Tucker, too."

"I wanna talk about it," Midoriya blurted out. His face turned a nice shade of pink, trying to hide it by turning his head away. "I mean..." ' _Really, Izuku? This person tries to help and you're being like this_?' Midoriya shook his head and faced Danny, who was passively telling him with a small smile to get on with it. "It's just... You're so good at making friends. Even with _Kacchan_. _How_."

Danny shrugged. "I guess I'm just a nice person." He shoved Midoriya to the side playfully, sticking out his tongue the moment they stepped into the cafeteria. "But all jokes aside— everybody is different. You just have to know what that specific person can appreciate in someone else, and sometimes play to that. Some require banter, others a normal conversation and others a major fight, apparently."

He gestured at 1-A, who were all clustered around Tucker and Sam yelling about meat. They were egging them on, and the others students merely looked amused. "There's lots of people, and not all of them are right for you. Draining, tiring, agitating... But once you find the _right_ person..."

Sam and Tucker waved at him before going right back into their discussion, and Danny waved back before turning to Midoriya. "You become inseparable."

"Danny, Sam is saying animals are cute and I can't deny that!" Tucker yelled. "Help me out, man!"

Midoriya huffed in amusement as he was dragged into the argument before glancing over the group. "The right person, huh?"

His steps had a little skip in them as he walked over to a nearby table, away from the ruckus going on in the center. "Hey, Iida," he said as he slid into the seat next to him. "Uraraka."

"Deku! I was wondering where you'd been," Uraraka quickly said. "Did something happen?"

"We were worried for you," Iida added.

Midoriya smiled, thinking about what had actually happened. "No, no problems. Just...advice from a friend."


	23. Friends (D)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i found the notebook thots we're back in business

Danny and Mina were inseparable the moment they were paired. Equal in both sarcasm and knowledge of people, they got on like a house on fire. It had started during Hero Training, the practical kind. Duos were let loose in the field, equipped with their Hero Costumes and Capture Tape. A free-for-all fight. Of course. Danny had wondered if All Might was lazy or just running out of ideas. Aizawa had grumbled something about "not enough supervision," but the exercise had started anyway. It was basically sparring.

With Quirks.

Luckily, Ashido had quickly assured him they'd be fine, and Danny had accepted the fact she was calling herself his friend, even insisting on the fact he'd call her Mina, not Ashido. "We're partners in crime now!" she had beamed the moment they were assigned to each other on the fields just outside the destroyed city-center training grounds.

Danny was tempted to flee, but decided against it and suggested they'd talk strategy in a closed-off spot before charging into battle. "Coordinating attacks," had been the excuse. He was actually trying to avoid fighting today, but he also suspected luck wouldn't be on his side.

Sitting crouched on the top floor of one of the buildings in the training grounds, he sighed. "I'm very sorry, but I haven't got the slightest wha—"

"Acid!" Mina exclaimed excitedly. She dismissed his confused look with a wave of her hand. "You're either occupied or unconscious during the battles of the others. I don't blame you for not knowing it." She held up one hand and made some of the white liquid drop on the floor. "I melt through things and can make a floor really slippery."

"Cool," he breathed.

"So what's the plan, Einstein? You're clearly familiar with all kinds of battle scenarios, I thought. You say it, captain."

He blinked at her determined yet happy look and stammered out an 'uuhhh.' "W-well... I'd say you have a mobility advantage over me, so you can easily get out of a situation. If I give you a cover, can you, say, 'slide' up to someone and immobilize them?"

"Oh yeah, good idea! I never thought about using it for sneak attacks!" She clapped her hands together in a rush of adrenalin. Outside, the battle was raging, creating a lot of noise. Mina didn't seem bothered and chose to instead get more into their plan. "Would this cover mean your Mist? How do I navigate through that?"

"About that... I can sort of, _sync up_ with you," he said, making quotation marks with his hands. Yet another weird thing that he only could do in this dimension. He pointed at her hand. "Can I..?"

"Gentleman," she noted with an impressed look as she put her hand on his, palm in palm.

"It'll tingle and be cold," he warned.

Mina has absolutely no idea how it would work, but the tingles in her hand were quick to stop her from starting to think about it. It felt like her hand was stuck in a block of ice and she tried pulling it back. Danny made sure she couldn't by putting his other hand on top of hers, trapping her. She pouted angrily, but didn't make another attempt.

"I'm sorry," he said as he let go. "If you interrupt it, it's more painful. _Way_ more."

She rubbed her palms together, giving him a small smile. "No worries."

The sounds outside got louder, and it wasn't even three seconds before Kirishima broke through one of the windows, eyes wide in both glee and adrenalin, Capture Tape at the ready. He spotted the two shielding their heads from the glass in one of the corners far away from the windows and ran in the direction as he hardened his arms, throwing the roll of tape as he went.

Mina was reacted instantly and threw her Acid at the roll, making it dissolve before it could hit either of them. She grinned in victory as Kirishima stared at the fizzling end of the tape he was holding and opened and closed his mouth like a fish, confused by everything. She got up on her feet and jumped up and down as she saw Sero swing in through the window as well. "Kirishima and Sero!"

"What're you up to, Mina," Sero carefully asked. The girl seemed too happy as she tensed up heavily, smiling like a maniac.

"Nothing! Just waiting."

"On what?" Kirishima panicked.

She grinned even wider and pointed. "That."

Their eyes followed her finger and Kirishima grinned as he saw the familiar blue clouds forming around Danny. "Oh, bring it _on_."

Sero shot his tape into the fog, hoping on trapping Danny before he could disappear into his cover. "I got something!" he exclaimed happily as he felt something tug at the end of the tape while Mina and Kirishima were busy fighting each other. Planting his feet into the ground firmly, he put his other hand behind his arm and pulled. _Something_ was pulled along with it, but it wasn't Danny. The end of a thick green vine was wrapped around his tape, and Sero gulped.

This was a mistake.

A dark figure shot past Sero, and he didn't have time or space to move around. The vine's hold on the end of the tape held him in place, and he could do nothing as the Capture Tape was wrapped around his torso and arms. "Oh man," he muttered as he lowered his arms and released the tape. He gave a half-hearted glare at Dark Shadow, who seemed to be grinning before disappearing back into the now dissolving mist.

"Hey, Sero," Mina said as she walked up to him, holding her hands up to show him the tape around her wrists. "I got caught."

"Me too, don't worry about it."

"Ah! Dude!" Kirishima yelled from somewhere on their floor. "That was so sneaky! How'd you do that! And that teamwork, man! That's so great! You gotta show me someday!"

"Looks like we're out for the count," Sero said as he shrugged at Mina. "See you outside?"

"Don't bother." They turned to Danny, who walked up to them, collecting his mist as he did. He held up his hands, that were covered in small and intricate vines. "We'll walk with you."

"We?"

"Wait up!" Kirishima ran up und to them, tape around his torso, hands tied with them. He grinned sheepishly as they gave him pitying looks. "They're _good_ , man."

"Sure are," Danny said as they headed for the stairs, stepping over rubble and pieces of glass as they walked. He was last to exit the rooms and shot a look over his shoulder, catching Sam's gaze. She smirked, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Danny! Hurry up!"

"Coming!"

***_*_*_*_***

"Hey, Tucker."

"Danny," he groaned back, plopping into one of the seats of the observation room. He let out a moan of discomfort at as his back his the hard material of the chair. "Man, that was one hell of a fight."

"Who'd you run into?" Kaminari —who had been taken out by Kirishima and Sero before they attacked Danny and Mina— cut in. "If you had a rough fight, I wanna know who to look out for."

"Bakugou."

Kaminari swallowed and shrunk in on himself. "R-right."

"Kaminari's looking kinda pale, Kirishima," Danny said, grinning at the redhead. "Maybe he needs some advice on how to not be scared of a classmate."

"He _is_ looking kinda pale, isn't he?" Sero cut in, already getting the direction Danny was pushing in. "It's just Bakugou, Kaminari. Mina, tell him Bakugou isn't scary."

"Oh he's really not, Kaminari!" Mina joined in, winking at Danny and Tucker, of whom the latter seemed in a state of total confusion. "He's a sweet, caring boy that is just unsure about himself at the moment —but aren't they all? There's nothing to be afraid of, Kaminari, really!"

"Yeah!" he exclaimed, standing up from his seat and grinning at his friends, who looked at him with hollow looks. He didn't notice as he said, "Bakugou isn't scary! He's just like us, and there's nothing to be afraid of but myself!"

"Wanna say that to _my_ face, Dunce Face!?"


	24. Friends (B)

Bakugou was sick of losing.

He'd been stressing about the fact that he'd lost three battles in the span of two weeks since the last sparring match, and the fact that he was seeing what he was seeing now wasn't helping the fact that his mental well-being. He'd nearly blown up his pillow from frustration last night, and when the old hag had been complaining about the fact he was yelling at her more this morning, he'd nearly set fire to the table.

He had stomped out of the house _way_ too early and ran to school, refusing to think about it. He passed the park, where people running and walking their dogs were looking at him strangely —he was running in his uniform, looking like a true mess and honestly, he didn't even blame them— and shot over the streets without properly looking if cars were coming. He heard someone shout at him, but ignored it and kept running.

The gates of U.A. had been opened a few minutes prior —he'd done his research on how late he could get inside the school grounds— and he panted a bit as he walked through them. The main building was still closed to students and would be for a while, so he opted on going to the training grounds instead. The walk around the building took him some time, but when he rounded the second corner, he was ready to leave and call in sick.

"Just...don't break your bones, Midoriya. You'll be _fine_."

Great. Nerd Two was teaching Damn Nerd how to keep his body whole. In itself nothing bad, but Bakugou wanted to get rid of some frustration by exploding something. The Damn Nerd would suffice, perhaps, but Nerd Two was watching.

"K-Kacchan!"

He turned his head to the Damn Nerd, who was frozen in place at seeing him. He glanced at Danny, who stood passively with his hands in his pockets, looking as if he were calculating the possible outcomes in his head. "Nerds," he said to greet them.

"Bakugou."

He 'tsk'ed and ignored them as he sat down against the side of the building, dropping his backpack next to him and crossing his legs. He could hear the hag scold him in his head for sitting like that, but he gestured at the two to not pay him any mind as he tuned her out. "Get back to whatever you're doing, or whatever." Fenton might've enabled him to make fun of Dunce Face, but that didn't mean he was off the hook for ridiculing him like that during the training and out of it.

He'd get him for that later.

Danny was first to lose interest in the teen and turned back to Midoriya. He was still enthralled by the picture of Bakugou looking relaxed like that, but snapped his attention back as Danny spoke. "Wanna try it on me?"

"Oh no! I'll break something in both you and me! L-let's just...not. Maybe we can do something else to help?"

Danny shook his head. "You have to get control over it soon. Breaking your bones every time you use your Quirk isn't going to help. It's harming you."

"But I can't control it, that's the problem!" Midoriya exclaimed. He ignored Bakugou's look and avoided Danny's gaze. "It's either 100 or 0. No in-between. Not for now, at least..."

"And that's why we're here, Midoriya. To get there. It's okay if you don't get it the first time, but all little bits help."

"Is something still blowing up or breaking or _what_?!"

"I'll break his leg if he keeps doing that," Danny muttered to Midoriya, who paled. "I'm kidding! I'm just saying it's annoying."

"That's Kacchan for you, I'm afraid," Midoriya chuckled. "He's always like that, so don't bother. Aren't you better than that?"

Danny felt a wave of nostalgia hit him and he didn't hear Bakugou's, "I heard that!" When Jazz had found out about Dan and tried to talk to him about it. Danny had —after a lot of pressuring— admitted he was still scared of turning into that, and Jazz had reminded him about the good things he'd done, and how that made up for it. _"You're never going to turn bad if I have something to say about it,"_ she'd said. Danny smiled at the memory.

"Danny?" Midoriya asked as he waved his hand in front of Danny, who seemed to have spaced out. "You okay?"

"Hmm? Ah, yes. Sorry." He rubbed his neck nervously. "Just...thinking about home."

"Do you miss it?" Midoriya immediately said.

Danny caught on to his plan —to avoid using his Quirk— in an instant, but the urge to talk about home with someone he trusted was greater than his motivation to train. "Sometimes. There's also things I most definitely _don't_ miss, but yeah, of course. My parents, older sister, and maybe also my old school a bit. My parents are really supportive of me nowadays, and Jazz has always been that way," he explained, grinning at Midoriya. "She used to get stuck in these situations when she wanted to help, but couldn't really. It was a hassle, but home."

"Was she Quirkless?" Midoriya blurted out. He reddened under Danny's gaze, but continued nonetheless. "B-because you said she couldn't always _help_. Do you mean because she had no Quirk?"

"Her only superpower was mind reading or something. With mine in particular," he laughed. "No, she doesn't have one— but that's okay, because it's...rare where we're from. And it's not like, you're worth any less or anything like that, and whoever says otherwise can meet my fists."

Bakugou cringed.

Midoriya lit up.

"Can you tell me more about her?"

***_*_*_*_***

Training stopped at that moment exactly.

Danny spent their remaining time before the first bell talking about their home, other friends, and his sister, mostly to Midoriya, with Bakugou pretending he wasn't interested in the background. It was nice to talk about Jazz, since he missed her a lot. They hadn't had... _time_ the past three years, and he didn't think it would change anytime soon. He'd go see her once they were done here, and maybe have dinner. _God_ was he looking forward to that. Maybe he could tell her about this world. She'd be thrilled.

Bakugou slowly itched closer to Danny when they walked into school, Midoriya haven run off to 'do some things'. Of course he'd listened to Fenton _ramble on_ about 'Amity Park' and 'Casper High' and some stupid old man called 'Vlad'. Honestly, what kind of a name was that, even? Apparently, he was a bastard that kinda turned good now, which Bakugou huffed at.

No one would ever change that badly, especially in two years.

He shot a quick glance at Fenton, who was lost in his own mind yet again. Honestly, the guy needed therapy or some shit. He seemed _exhausted_. Bad sleeper, bad eater, bad attention span. Bakugou knew the variables and was very proud of his schedule. He skipped the "Are you okay?" speech and spoke, in a moment of pure boredom and not-caring-ness, "You look like shit."

"So I've heard," Danny yawned. "But hey, it's doing something good, isn't it? You're actually concerned."

"Am not."

"Hmhm," Danny mused as they passed the locker room that was brimming up with some students already. Danny waved at Sam and Tucker and kept walking, leaving Bakugou to do nothing but keep walking besides him, into the quickly filling hallway. "You could've gone somewhere else this morning, you know? Avoid Midoriya and train."

"That was the plan, you moron," he grumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets. Honestly, what was it with this guy? Acting all caring and selfless towards others. It was making Bakugou even sicker than he already was.

"What changed?"

"You."


	25. Redemption

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> halfway through people. a milestone.

Danny blinked. "Me?"

"Yeah, you," Bakugou scoffed as if he hadn't just revealed something major— which also wasn't the case. Honestly, this guy had issues. "Usually, the Shitty Nerd shows up either alone or not at all. You're a new variable. There's nothing but basic math right there."

Danny deadpanned at his answer. "Did you just use math to explain I've thrown you off your rhythm?"

"The only rhythms I have are sleep, heartbeat, and rate in which I plan to murder people. You're about to throw me off the last one."

Danny put his hands up, a grin across his face. "If you want me to go, just say it, man."

Bakugou 'tsk'ed. This guy... Strangely attentive towards _everyone_ , apologetic as can be, shit at cues and yet a master at social skills, and it was making Bakugou _furious_. He couldn't get a good read on him! He'd avert the question, steer the conversation away and make you say things. It was almost as if he could see into your brain and alter what path you were going down, now that he was thinking about it.

Bakugou was starting to wonder about his Quirk. Was it really 'Energy'? What even was that _supposed_ to mean? To **_do_** _?_ Did he use his own? Generate it? Where did it come from? Was there a limit? What were the applications? Did he lie about his Quirk? Was it actually something with mind-control?

But still, that mist...

There was no way he'd find out like this. Not while they were not all buddy-buddy.

Shitty friendships.

"Bakubro!"

"Hey, Kirishima," Danny greeted him.

Plan; formed.

"I'm out of here," he said before stomping off. Class was starting soon anyway, and Four Eyes was probably already yelling at people to sit and be attentive. Bullshit, since Aizawa was always right on time and they still had five minutes, ' _but go off, I guess.'_ The Damn Nerd would be flustering in front of Round Face and the other idiots would go and annoy him.

"Bakugou! Didn't see you at the gates this morning!" Mina cheered as he walked past, jumping up and down in front of him.

"Stop it. You're going to make me sick with those eyes."

"They're something, aren't they?" she said, brushing the comment off. "Anyway— Where were you at just now? I thought I heard you."

"Fenton, I'm guessing," Sero cut in, smirking at the two. "Don't look at me like that! You two have this rivalry that's just as bad as yours and Midoriya's."

"Wanna get on the list of people I have to kill?"

"We're good, man!" Kaminari interrupted.

Bakugou huffed out a 'whatever' and stomped into the classroom, away from the chittering of the groups in the hallway. The room was pretty empty, save for a few people. Four Eyes, Round Face, Deku, and the Frog were talking to each other on the right of the classroom, just near his desk. Half-And-Half was staring at them from his desk. Perfect. Absolutely amazing. Great. There was no _way_ he was sitting down there any time soon.

Those other three idiots were at the other side after bothering him in the hallway, effectively making sure he couldn't sit there _either_. Trapped between people that didn't like him and people that liked him too much. Absolutely _great_.

"Lighten up already, being dark and gloomy is my thing."

"Manson," Bakugou said as Sam stood next to him, looking at him with an empty and innocent look. "Haven't you got shit to do? People to talk to? Fenton to embarrass or something?"

"Embarrassing him is always an option, Bakugou. I don't run on a minute schedule."

"I do, so piss off."

"Wow, _rude_ ," she mocked as she put her hand over her chest. "How dare you."

"I dare everything," he barked back.

"Oh no, is this about last training?" she smiled behind her hand. "Oh, the Great Bakugou, got done by the new girl. How shaming. Say—" she held a fist by his face, as if holding a microphone— "how does this make you feel? What's going through you right now?"

He slapped her hand away in a swift motion. "You and that stupid Bird Brain with your hiding," he grumbled. "I'm just pissed because—"

"Because?"

He opened his mouth to answer with a sneer but managed to —somehow— reel it back in. The sheer audacity. The _nerve_. She had no right. But...

Why _was_ he pissed?

"Nothing," he barked before moving towards his desk and plopping down on it, propping his feet up on the desk and putting his hands behind his head, effectively shutting Sam up. He ignored everyone and instead stared out of the window, looking at the graying sky and incoming storm.

What was he so pissed at? Manson? Bird Brain? Just because they had a plan and executed it damn well? Nah, that wasn't it. But why was he feeling like blowing up the school? It's been ages since he last felt so _damn_ shit like this.

Ugh, _felt_. Bakugou cringed at his own thoughts and took his feet off the table, letting his head rest on his hand, elbow on the table. Something had changed, but what? The three Americans could be it, but they've been here for more than a week and this was the first time. It's also not like the old hag did something that put him on edge or anything like it. School was fine, he guessed. The Damn Nerd was being himself, the stuttering and fidgeting mess he always was. But he was getting _better_ at everything. He supposed those two Nerds combined was going to get _him_ in trouble someday.

Talking about Nerds...

Fenton walked in, laughing at some stupid joke Shitty Hair had obviously told him. The one thing that was working out this morning. Shitty Hair would find out all about Fenton and his friends, and he'd blurt it out to him someday. _'Maybe even_ ** _to_** _day,'_ Bakugou thought the moment Aizawa rolled into the room, inwardly grinning in victory.

No secret was safe for him.

***_*_*_*_***

"Shitty Hair," Bakugou said as he walked into the locker room after class. The rest of the students had left long ago, leaving the two alone in the school.

The redhead was swapping out textbooks but turned to Bakugou as he walked in. "Bakugou! What're you doing here? I thought you had to get home."

"The old hag can wait. I wanna talk."

"Talk?"

Shit. He should've thought this through more. Crap crap crap. He had a reputation to uphold...but the _plan_. He needed to know this shit or he'd never find out. No going back now. "It's about...Fenton."

"Danny? What about?" Kirishima asked as he closed his locker and heaved his backpack into his shoulder. He narrowed his eyes. "Did you two fight again?"

"No, you idiot! It's just..." He sighed and pocketed his hands, looking at the ground. "I need to know if he's lying, and you were close with him today, so I figured you'd know something."

Kirishima shrugged. "If you want to know something, ask him yourself. Guy's an open book."

"Not to me, shithead."

"Get to know him, then!" Kirishima grinned. He put a hand to his chin and looked up. "Training with him might be a good idea, or ask him to study together or something."

"If he studies, I'm—"

"Eating a sock? You should've seen Kaminari the other day! He actually tried to! Sero had to rescue him, but I'm sure Mina's got a video of it all. I'll ask if she sends it to you."

"Yeah, whatever," Bakugou said before walking off. Maybe training together _was_ a good idea. He could easily crash the morning trainings he had, since he knew what time and where. He could also keep an eye on the Damn Nerd and what the hell _he_ was doing. He paused in the doorway. "Maybe you don't actually have hair for brains, Kirishima."


	26. Shopping (1)

"I'm telling you it's nothing serious!" Tucker exclaimed to his friends, his arms flailing around to further stress his frustration. "She's just bad with social cues and personal space!"

Danny and Sam shared a smirk as Tucker rambled on, going from 'she's just really intense with things' to 'you walked in on exactly the wrong moment honestly guys it's your fault' to 'she's amazing with machines' in point two seconds. "Looks like you're really looking up to this 'Hatsume' person," Danny said, trying to get Tucker to stop screaming in the middle of the dimly lit street. "If you're impressed by her skills and knowledge of some tech..."

"It's not just _knowing_! It's _understanding_ , getting the core, foundations, and necessities," Tucker cut Danny off, pressing his index finger and thumb together. "She doesn't even _use_ machines! She **_makes_** them! From nearly scratch! You should see what she's already come up with. I'm sure she would be able to alter costumes when she's had enough practice!"

"Introduce me," Sam deadpanned. "I made huge mistakes in my design." At their blank looks, she waved them off and ducked into the store. The two boys shrugged at each other before following her into the vegetable section. "Padding, boys. Padding. Knees, elbows, hands. Flat shoes. I don't even know _why_ there are heels. The same goes for Uraraka. Tsuyu has flat shoes. Oh also—" she turned to them, a glint of mischief in her eyes— "sports. Period."

"No arguing there," Danny agreed swiftly without a problem as he took some apples and put them in a plastic bag, leaving Tucker red-faced. "Tuck, close your mouth. Flies, man, flies." He tied the bag and placed it in Sam's crate. "How about you, Sam? Any friends?"

"Tokoyami's pretty cool," she said carefully as she picked out the best-looking bananas.

"Oh yeah, you teamed up with him last training, right?" Danny asked as he tied the plastic bag with the apples and weighed them. "You two seem...compatible, in some way."

Sam nodded. "He's into dark stuff like me, so that's something we have in common. Jirou is kinda 'retro' and into rock and plays a killer guitar solo, she showed me a video the other day. Honestly, you should hear it sometime." She turned to Danny after sending Tucker for some rice. "And you? Besides Midoriya?"

"Not really," he sighed. "Busy training and thinking. Releasing stress, trying new things out. 'Energy' might sound cool, but it's a big restriction for me."

Sam's gaze softened a bit as she took his hand and gave it a small squeeze. "If you need ideas or help, you know where to find me, alright?"

He squeezed her hand back and gave her a little smile back. "I will."

Tucker fake-gagged.

They moved through the store with practiced ease, each covering their sections and things before Sam and Tucker ran off to the butcher's section of the store to get different kinds of meat and replaceable for it, leaving Danny with their yet-to-pay-for groceries in the crate.

He decided it'd be best he waited for them near the check-out, so he lingered around the magazine stands near the exit, browsing through them as if he were interested. He found the background music playing over the speakers of the store pleasant. The deafening silence of no customers —it _was_ late at night already— and the only employee in the store behind the counter playing on her phone with one earplug in lingered in his brain, as if creating static. Sam and Tucker were on the other side of the store, behind an aisle or four, arguing. He found it strangely reassuring.

The door opening caught his attention, and he glanced at the person entering. The man avoided his gaze and ducked into the nearest aisle, avoiding both a greeting from Danny and getting noticed by the employee. Danny went back to his magazines, suddenly interested as he saw an article on the latest Hero Rankings. Curious, he opened it and went to the right page.

All Might's beaming face stared back at him from the top of the page, and Danny cringed. He still had to talk to the man about the conference drama. Endeavor —Todoroki's dad, he'd found out— was on number two, but he didn't seem all that happy. Number three was a fairly young man, tinted glasses on his nose and an excited smile on his face. Danny decided he liked him, Hawks. Number four was...a pair of jeans, eyes and a _ridiculous_ haircut. The amount of gel that had to be in the—

"—and hurry it up a bit."

Danny's eyes widened.

If the tone of the person wasn't demanding enough, the whimpers of the employee and the rustling of the money after the register was opened were a dead give-away.

Danny panicked a bit in realization before slowly breathing out, closing the magazine and quietly putting it back on the stand. The new customer stood nine feet, maybe more, away from him, his back towards him, facing the employee, who was freaking out. Danny didn't have eyes on the back of his head, but he didn't need to know exactly what was going on.

"I'll shoot if you don't hurry," he whispered.

Danny slowly turned, internally getting ready for whatever was going to be happening. Multiple scenarios played through his head like flowcharts, and he was trying to go down every single option, trying to find the one that didn't end up in the gun going off. The employee was opening the register, quietly pleading not to be shot. Her eyes widened at seeing Danny turn around, but didn't alert the robber.

Good.

Sam and Tucker were still occupied with their argument, which Danny was extremely grateful for. He didn't need them to be here right now. Tucker would panic and Sam would straight-up tell them to kindly piss off. That would go horribly wrong either way. Just the three, Danny could manage.

"Money in the bag, now! Hurry it up!"

"Hey, buddy. The aisle for shitty people was way back. I think you missed your stop."

The robber turned around by moving in a circle, keeping the employee in his vision as he looked at the teen. "You don't wanna be part of this, kid," he said hurriedly, motioning at the employee to keep putting money in the bag. "Just— don't move and nothing's gonna happen."

"Alright."

Danny couldn't hear Sam and Tucker anymore and hoped they wouldn't come back anytime soon. Maybe they saw what was going on and called the police. U.A. maybe. Someone. _Anyone_. In that case, they needed time. A lot of it.

"I know I'm supposed to raise my hand before asking a question," Danny softly began, "but you told me not to move."

"Getting snarky now, huh?" the man scoffed, hand clenching around the gun. "One wrong word and I'll shoot her," he threatened, emphasizing his aim on the employee.

"Please don't," Danny said, though his tone wasn't pleading. "Why don't you point it at me instead? I'm an actual threat. No offense."

She shook her head swiftly and kept her eyes trained on the floor. What was this kid thinking!? Offering to be held at gunpoint? Was he crazy? She turned her eyes to the opened register. There wasn't much left in there— a few loose bills from her haste and two slots filled with different amounts. How was she supposed to stretch their time when she had only these things?

"Point it at you? I don't even know you. For all I know you could be Quirkless and this lady here is a Pro."

"Or it's the other way around and I'm giving you the last chance to leave the civilian out of it."

That set him on edge.

He slowly moved the barrel towards Danny, sending the woman a wave of relief as the immediate danger of losing her dear life was avoided. "Pro? Don't make me laugh," he taunted, though his voice nearly cracked at the end. His knuckles were nearing white wrong his tight grip on the gun, his index finger shaking from stress as it rested against the trigger. Only a small push away from being fired, the gun settled in the direction of Danny's chest.


	27. Shopping (2)

"Are you really a Pro?"

Danny mentally rolled his eyes at the obvious question and the obvious answer that would come with it: ' _No_.' Not while he was stuck as a fourteen-year-old running on nothing but the ramen and energy drink he had greedily taken hours ago. Sam was going to stuff him with all kinds of... _greens_ later.

Should he get home tonight.

No, not going there. He was going to handle the situation like he knew what he was doing and would walk home with Sam and Tucker, and then they'd have dinner and watch a movie. And then they'd all go to bed. Sleep sounded good right about now. Damn, he was tired. He hadn't slept well in a few weeks, ever since they got here. The 'beds' here were weird and he couldn't get used to it.

' _Trailing off, idiot_ ,' he scolded himself before trying to focus back on the man.

" _Well_?" the man pressured, wobbling his gun to emphasize his frustration. "Are you?"

"Yes."

He _totally_ knew what he was doing.

The man visibly swallowed as he cracked his neck before giving Danny his full attention again. "Alright, alright..." he muttered to himself. "No funny business—" he pointed the gun back the employee, who visibly winced and stayed there— "or she dies."

"Hey, big guy, gun on me, okay? Leave her out of it," Danny half-begged and half-demanded. "I can move now, remember?"

"Don't want that," the employee whispered.

Visibly distraught, the man groaned out of stress. "Stop talking, you two. And you..."

"Money," she finished for him before slowly opening the pin holding down the bills, showing she had no intention of making any moves.

She wasn't crazy.

"There's more Pros on the way."

But _he_ was.

Her head snapped to the kid. Danny could almost hear her panic rant and accusation in her widening eyes. ' _Are you serious!?_ ' 

"You're bluffing," the man accused Danny. "You couldn't have called the cops."

Danny had a challenging look on his face. "Sure?"

"You're a teen," the man huffed, though his grip didn't falter. "Teens always lie."

"There's more on the way, though." Danny's head turned to the voice he recognized and absolutely _didn't_ groan aloud as he saw his suspicions confirmed. Bakugou stood near the entrance, one hand in his pocket and the other holding onto the phone, showing the screen. The big red button ending the call was pressed just before he pocketed it and shook his head, slowly walking between the low displays that held the vegetables. "He wasn't lying about that." He came to a halt next to Danny, glaring at the robber with a challenging look.

Danny shot Bakugou a look that _screamed '_ get out before you screw this situation up and get us killed,' but the gun was already trained on him. Bakugou didn't seem bothered by the death threat and took his hands out his pockets, placing them on his sides. "Bakugou..." Danny grumbled.

The girl was seriously stressing out because of the new variable to the situations and used the moment of inattentiveness from the robber to move around her register.

"I have every right to be here, Nerd Two," Bakugou barked at Danny, who was shooting glances around the store. Where the _hell_ were Sam and Tucker?! And what was the girl _up to_? What was Bakugou _thinking_?! Danny glared at Bakugou as he shuffled closer, Bakugou not once meeting his gaze. The robber was fiddling with his hands, muttering to himself as Bakugou whispered, "Relax. Your idiot friends are outside."

"They ran?"

"Into me," Bakugou huffed. "Idiots wanted to come. I said no and told them to go to the police. The call was a bluff," he summarized. "Should be here in a few, though." He stood up straight again to his full length —Danny was, undeniably, short— to meet the robber's gaze. "Get out of here, leave the money, and don't try anything stupid again or we'll find you."

"What is a little _brat_ like _you,"_ the man spit out, "going to do against _me_?"

Bakugou smirked as his palms sparked at his side, his smile turning into a full-blown grin as he saw the robber tense.

"Don't do anything you'll regret, kid."

"Think about the dangers," Danny pressed. "You don't know what'll happen."

"I'll kick his ass into prison, that's what's gonna happen."

"Bakugou, they're gonna be here any second now. Just wait."

"Please don't..." the girl whispered.

"Oh, but I think I will..."

"Do _not_."

"Shut up, Nerd!"

" _Katsuki."_

He flinched, dropped his hands, and clenched them together before pointing at Danny, glaring at him from his side. _"_ Don't you _dare_ keep going," Bakugou warned.

The man looked between the two with a confused expression. He finally linked the events together and came to the conclusion this was supposed to be the back-up. Time for his back-up plan, then... "I'm going to count to three—"

"Oh, _joy_."

"—and you choose who I'm shooting."

Bakugou wanted to interrupt the man and told him how shitty he was being and 'how the hell do you think you can get away with this,' but Danny was faster. "Me, of course. I'm the one that called him—" he pointed at Bakugou and shrugged— "your problem, my fault."

Bakugou did a double-take before deciding he'd... _discuss_ that with him later, instead deciding on playing along. "Are you kidding? You can't dodge for shit!"

Okay, maybe he wasn't acting.

"And you can't think for shit!"

Ouch.

"You both can't," the man said.

"Oh _please_."

He straightened his arm.

"Wait—"

Closed one eye.

"Fenton I _swear_ —"

Aimed.

"Get out of the way!"

And shot.

***_*_*_*_***

"A robbery?"

Sam and Tucker nodded heavily as they panted, having run to the police station a few blocks away in minutes, throwing all care for personal safety out of the window. Dodging traffic had become one of their many skills over the years, including making up excuses —lying— and free-running to keep up with Danny. They _still_ needed more stamina training.

The detective —who was just leaving for the weekend— had been outside when they came running, trying to tell him something. He didn't quite catch it the first few times due to their ragged breaths but managed to catch some words. "And you want me to come?"

"O-officers," Sam corrected him. "With guns... He has one."

One quick call to Dispatch and a check of his gear later, he gestured at them. "Lead the way."

And so they ran the few blocks back, Sam suspiciously managing to be first there. The street was silent when they got there, except for their pants and footsteps on the pavement. "Stay here," the detective ordered with a small wave before taking his gun and moving up to the side of the entrance. He peeked around the corner, but couldn't see anything because of the stands. Feeling a slight shift of the air, he swiveled around, gun raised. "What're you two _doing!?_ " he hissed at the teens.

"Helping. They're our _friends."_

"Stay back or I'll arrest you," he threatened.

"Do it later," Sam said before walking past him. She stood in front of the opened doors and carefully moved in, fingers at the ready to make any plant necessary. She spotted the employee standing near the register, talking frantically on the phone, and Sam suspected it was with the police.

Not what she was looking for.

"Manson?"

"Bakugou?" Sam confusedly stated before dropping her arms and running over to him. He sat on the ground, holding his left arm with his right hand. Danny sat next to him, holding his right arm. "Danny!"

"Hey, Sam. You okay?"

What the _hell_.


	28. Evening

"Well, I was standing with the magazine stand while you two were yelling about what to take from the butcher's..." he started as Sam took his right arm and inspected the wound. "The guy was threatening the employee, and I overheard, and I couldn't just stand by whi—" He cut himself off with a hiss as Sam poked at the skin around the wound. "Sam!"

"You gotta be more careful," she scolded as she moved her hands around, creating a web of intricate minuscule vines and moss. "So you confronted him, we ran, Bakugou came running here all frantic—"

"That's a lie!" Bakugou yelled. "I wasn't—"

"—so he _frantically_ ran here," she continued, "and you three faced off, you did something stupid and he shot and grazed you _both?_ "

"We didn't do anything stupid!"

"Do you want a bandage or not!?" she exclaimed, glaring at Bakugou. "Shut up, or I'm leaving you to get infected. No practicals for a month. You know what's good for you, don't you?"

"I tried to push him out of the way so he wouldn't get hit," Danny jumped in.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" She stared at him as he opened and closed his mouth like a fish before moving his hand from trying to prove his point to the back of his neck. "You tried to take the hit again, didn't you?"

Again?

Bakugou snapped his head to their direction from where he was looking at Foley and... _someone_. He looked like a detective, of some sort, with his long brown coat and hat. Inspector Gadget was nothing compared to this person. He was also on the phone, probably getting a medic. He doubted it'd be necessary since Manson was doing some weird shit with her Quirk, but he wasn't complaining.

Yet.

But still, **_again_**? Was Fenton the same self-sacrificing, zero-care-for-himself as Deku? Like, for real? The two of them seemed more similar than was healthy for him. Two of those? Nah, he was good with only one he could handle, up to some point. This second one was freaking him out.

And Manson acting like she was disappointed and not surprised was even weirder. Foley was just acting as if it was normal, the two of them fussing over each other.

What the hell was America.

"The employee knocked him out with a pole or something," Danny said in an attempt to avert the question. "Right in his head, bam!" He swished his left arm around as if hitting someone. "Knocked him straight out."

"I'll thank her later."

"So, am I still gonna get my shit or what?" he said, trying to get the two to stop being so close to making out. What the hell. "I shut up, didn't I?"

Sam rolled her eyes but got to work anyway, leaving Danny to inspect his make-shift bandage. "You two are idiots," she muttered.

"Yeah yeah, don't act all proud."

"That's gold, coming from you," Danny cut in, smiling a lopsided grin.

"Wanna shut up or get blown to bits?!" he threatened, right palm dangerously sparking.

Sam slapped him.

"What happened to _you_?!"

Danny looked to the side, just behind the gates of the ground surrounding their apartment complex. "Hey, Midoriya," he sighed. He held up his right arm, which was in a sling. "Got into some trouble in the store. No biggie, hehehe."

"No biggie, says he." Sam rolled her eyes. "He's the one that got shot and he's saying he's fine."

"Shot!? Are you okay?" he exclaimed immediately.

"He's fine or will be. If he ever goes to his damn bed," Sam sighed back.

"Did you to the one 10 blocks away?" he asked as he inched closer, trying to get a closer look. "In the narrow street? Don't go to that one. There's a cheaper one the other way. It's a less sketchy street, as well. Never thought something would ever happen there, but still. I should've told you guys..."

"It's not your fault he couldn't keep his mouth shut," Tucker chuckled. "Don't feel guilty over something you could've nothing about. Thanks for the tip, though. We'll go there from now on."

Midoriya smiled a bit and nodded before he remembered something. "I'm warning you, if my mother sees you like this, she'll completely bury you in blankets and feed you cookies and tea."

"Let's go, then!" Danny said, already walking towards the complex.

Sam grabbed him by his collar and smiled at Midoriya. "We should all go to sleep. It's late." She ignored Danny's whine and furrowed her brows. "Why were you out this late?"

"J-just... I couldn't sleep!" he exclaimed, flushing red under her scrutinizing gaze. She was even more intense than Uraraka. "Yeah, I wanted some air. That's all."

Sam saw right through the lie but nodded nonetheless. "Be sure to go to bed soon, okay? Sleep schedules rule your life."

"So I've been told..."

"Don't listen to everything Bakugou says, Midoriya," Tucker added. "He's too intense."

"I haven't seen him since school," Midoriya recollected. "Usually, I still see him around the neighborhood. He must've been inside all day."

"N-nnooooo..." Danny slurred, slumping against Sam, who quickly handed the shopping bag to Tucker. She put his head on her shoulder to make sure he wouldn't fall over her. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled into her neck with his head.

"It's the lack of sleep and pain killers," she laughed. "He's been like this since it happened, and he doesn't know what he's talking about."

"But...Kats'ki was the'e..."

"We should get him into bed," Tucker pressed. "Sorry, Midoriya. See you around!"

"See ya!"

"Goodnight!" he called after them.

Danny turned his head towards him without Sam noticing and mouthed, 'Call Bakugou.'

Midoriya blinked.

They disappeared into the building, leaving Midoriya alone. Outside. Contemplating things as life and what the _hell was happ_ ** _ening oh wh—_**

He hesitantly took his phone out of his back pocket and glanced at the screen filled with messages from Uraraka who'd been sending him memes all evening to cheer him up. There were also some from Iida telling him to go to bed soon, and Asui wishing him a good night. Smiling at the little texts, he unlocked his phone and scrolled through them before closing the messenger and glancing up at the building.

Danny was standing out on the gallery, hunched over the railing. Spotting Midoriya, he waved and put his hand to his head. ' _Yes, I'm calling, sheesh,'_ Midoriya thought with a smile before waving back at Danny, who disappeared inside.

He checked the time. Nearly midnight. Kacchan was someone always went to bed early, so he'd be asleep by now. Must've been for hours. Midoriya was kinda jealous of the healthy sleep-cycle he had going on, but he was still breathing, so how bad could his be?

He chose to text him instead.

**_Good morning, I think. Danny said to call you, but I figured you'd be asleep. Don't know what about. Anything I should be worried about?_ **

He deleted the last sentence and sent the message. Putting it on stand-by, he dropped his hands beside him and went to move towards the building. Halfway on the first staircase, his phone buzzed.

Midoriya frowned as he dug in his pocket and fished the device out of it, blinking against the brightness.

**_WHAT'D HE SAY_ **

That was...odd. Why wasn't he asleep yet? Was he sick? Having trouble?

**_Nothing! That's why I asked._ **   
**_Also, shouldn't you be asleep?_ **

**_I got held up, idiot._ **   
**_Now LEAVE ME ALONE._ **

Classic Kacchan.

**_Goodnight, I guess._ **

He put his phone back in his pocket and sprinted up the last set of stairs. Just as he opened the door, his phone buzzed a last time.

_**whatever, Nerd.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> one cup of a delirious character and a shot of nice Bakugou. anything else to go with that?


	29. Braeak-In (1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> before we get to the chapter I wanna give some shout-outs to  
> Sidney, who is always showing their support for me and my writing despite not reading the fic themselves (I love u, Sidney),  
> Marisa, who has been nothing but an excited reader since the first chapter and way before that, and a loyal commenter and friend,  
> Alice, with who I can always talk writing and drawing, and is, despite not reading the fic, super supportive of me  
> AND the two people who have been dying over this fic in the Big Boi Server, fukin' superb you funky people, Ary and Steph. I hope you'll enjoy the rest of my senseless drabbles and edits. this is for you!

There were many reporters at the gate after hearing that All Might was hired as a faculty member and teaching at U.A. Desperate for either a story, statement or interview, they hoarded around the school gates, pestering students with questions.

"What's he like?"

"Muscly..?"

"He reminds me every day I am being taught at a top institution. He is the personification of integrity and honor, as one would presume. Despite that, he is not afraid to show a more humorous side of himself. Truly, a unique—"

"—aren't you that Sludge-Villain kid?"

"Walk _away_."

Aizawa stood in the gates, trying to get them to leave. The reporters were in his personal space, and he was dying to get a nap or coffee. But not until he could throw a fake bone at the vultures and have them leave him and the students alone.

"Can you get All Might for us? Also, you look like a mess. What's your deal?"

The reporter in the front of the cluster was seriously frustrating him. "He's not on campus, now go away," he grumbled before turning to the school. "You've bothered my students enough already."

The woman tried to follow him through the gates, but the metal contraptions came crashing down. She fell back with a yelp and watched in horror as the rest of the walls were suddenly also reinforced.

A man, sitting on a bench a little distance away, let his newspaper fall on the wood beside him before standing up. They wanted a story, right? He'd give them exactly that.

***_*_*_*_***

Midoriya walked into class, a bit shaken from the run-in with the press. Spotting Bakugou skulking off in his chair, he contemplated talking to him, but merely brushing past and sat down in his chair. He was planning on talking to him about last night, still, but decided it could wait until after class. Aizawa had walked in, annoyance on his face.

"Today we'll do something that will decide your future."

Everybody tensed. Another Quirk Test? Sparring? A match? It couldn't be good, if even Aizawa seemed to be dreading whatever it was they were gonna do.

"You will be choosing a class representative."

Some sort of collective gasp went through the room before they realized what _exactly_ it _meant._ Everybody sent a distant and careful glance over the others. What were they gonna do? Should they go first themselves? Grab attention? At the same time, everybody started yelling.

"Why is everyone screaming?" Danny hissed to Midoriya, who was slowly raising his hand.

"Well you, see, it's to get noticed by agencies, to prove that you can lead a team," he explained. "If you can handle a class, you can handle some of the sidekicks. Leadership is one of the most important things of a Pro Hero, along with skills in combat and rescue, so it's quite a statement if you can do it."

"Silence! All of you!" Iida exclaimed. Heads turned to him, and he swallowed. "The class representative has to lead others. That is not something to be taken lightly! Not everyone will be up for it. You must first have earned the trust of every single student of the class, so the most logical way to do this is democratical." He made a wide gesture with his arm, and his glasses reflected the light because of his stance. "I propose an election to choose the leader!"

"Yeah, he wants to be it," Tucker mumbled to Sam, who nodded back at him.

"Is this _really_ the best way to go about it?" Kaminari wondered aloud.

"We don't even know each other for more than two weeks, so how do we know who we can trust?"

Danny flinched.

Kirishima turned to Iida. "Won't everyone just vote for themselves?"

"Perhaps," he said, "but as long as one person gets more than their vote, it is obvious they are most suited!" Turning to Aizawa, he went on, "It is the only way to go about it, right, Sir?"

Aizawa was halfway with zipping up his sleeping bag when he grumbled. "As long as you make up your mind before the end of the school day, it's fine with me."

***_*_*_*_***

The results on the board were clear enough as it was; Yaoyorozu was runner up with 2 votes, while Midoriya stood above her with _6_. He seemed surprised by the fact he got votes _at all_ , and ignored the banter between Sero and Bakugou as he internally broke down.

Uraraka was whistling off, trying to appear innocent for some reason, and Iida was regretting his proposal out loud.

Yaoyorozu followed Midoriya as they walked to the front of the class and Aizawa held a little summarizing speech about duties and whatnot. Yaoyorozu was not amused by Midoriya's hesitance but decided she'd have to deal with it.

Danny gave him a thumbs-up, obviously having voted for him, while Asui and Kirishima agreed that it wouldn't be the worst idea. Shooting a glance at Sam and Tucker, he knew they voted for him as well.

He just knew it.

***_*_*_*_***

"Did you get any sleep last night, Deku?" Uraraka wondered as they got started with their meal. "You seem tired."

"I just...couldn't sleep, that's all," he nervously laughed off. "I'm kinda worried about the class rep thing," he admitted. "I'm not sure I'm fit to do something like that..."

"Sure you are!"

"You'll be great," Iida added. "You think quick, execute your plan as you thought it out, and show you don't succumb to stress. The strength you generate will be a great example for the rest of the class."

"You voted for me?"

"Didn't you want to be the rep?" Uraraka asked. "I mean, you seemed like you wanted, and you look the part as well. Just saying."

"Wanting to and earning are different things, I'm afraid. The Iida Hero Agency has taught me that much."

"Agency?"

Iida flinched and stuttered, "Ah, eh... It's nothing."

"I've been wondering about that!" Uraraka exclaimed, putting her rice down. "You're filthy rich!"

Iida avoided her gaze. "I... I apologize for not telling you about my family," he mumbled. "I feared people would treat me differently..."

Both Uraraka and Midoriya stared at him until he sighed. "The Iida family have been Pro Heroes for generations. Are you familiar with the Hero Ingenium?" Their excited nods told him enough. "Well, he's my elder brother!" he proudly stated.

"Wow!"

"I can't believe it!"

"Ingenium is a Hero following the Hero Code, and has never been passed by anyone else! As the second Iida son, I strive to be just like him. Though... I am afraid the role of a leader would be too much for me at the moment. That's why you, Midoriya—" he turned to him— "should take on the mantle of class representative! Your insight in the Practical Exam was something that convinced the judges to let you pass— a class representative needs that sort of instinct." He gave a reassuring smile.

"That's your first smile, Tenya! You should do it more!" Uraraka exclaimed, breaking all tension.

Iida reddened considerably. "What are you talking about? I smile all the time!"

' _He strives to be like his brother, just like I strive to be like All Might_!' Midoriya thought happily. The comparison made him appreciate Iida even more than he already did. "Hey Iida, about that test—"

An alarm interrupted him.

"What's going on?!"

" _Level 3 Security Breach. Everyone evacuate the building in an orderly fashion,"_ the voice-over spike through the speakers.

People started running.

Iida conversed with a student from the third year about what it meant while Uraraka and Midoriya stood up. "Iida, come on!" Uraraka spoke through clenched teeth. "We should go!"

"I think I see some of our classmates over there!" Midoriya pointed to the doors of the cafeteria. "Maybe we should follow them."

"Let's go!"


	30. Break-In (2)

The outer hallway was filled to the brim with students. From the first to the third year, from Hero to Support Course, from Financial Studies to General Education, everyone was pushing and shoving to get out of the building first. Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida were trapped within the mass of teens, desperately trying to not get squashed under their feet.

"Why..?" Uraraka said through gritted teeth as she was shoved into her two classmates.

"The U.A. students were all quick to react, as to be expected!" Iida said as if he _wasn't_ part of the group. "But the hallways are too narrow!"

"They might've been quick, but they're causing a large panic as well!" Midoriya exclaimed. He was pushed to the side and lost his footing, involuntarily moving away from Uraraka and Iida to regain his balance.

"What in the world could've trespassed—" was the last Midoriya heard of Iida before the noises of the crowd overtook his senses and he was unable to hear Iida or Uraraka anymore. The crowd sucked him further away from them, moving towards the exit in an agonizingly slow pace.

He panicked.

It was as if he was four again, sitting in that _stupid chair_ with that _mean_ old man, crushing his life-time dream of being a Hero with a few simple words. It was as if he sat in front of the computer again, watching that one video over and over, except this time, his mom didn't even come _at all_.

It was as if he was in middle school again, cornered by those four kids that had tormented him since kindergarten. It was as if they were sneering at him, laughing at him, calling him names, and making him feel stupid for even trying. It was as if Kacchan was there, giving him those downgrading looks before throwing his notes out the window and into the pond.

It was as if he was Quirkless again, fighting against the drowning with nothing to hold on to and no hope of _anyone_ coming to save him. It was as if the Sludge Villain came back, his breath hitching in his throat, and he found himself hyperventilating. It was as if he found himself giving up, tears spilling and light nearly going out...

"Midoriya!"

A firm grip on his upper arm brought him back to reality before a tingling sensation took over. A hiss from the person holding him was all he could hear before the sensation spread from the grip on his arm to the rest of his body, and before he knew it, he was out of the crowd.

"Listen up! Everything is okay! It's just the press! There's nothing to worry about! Everything is fine! We're U.A. students, we need to remain calm and prove that we're the best of the best!"

Iida's speech resonated in his ears for a second or two before he got grip on the situation. He was sitting against the wall, in the empty cafeteria.

On the other side of the wall.

He looked around himself, still not completely present. No doors nearby, no people in sight, and all he heard were the relieved exclamations from the other side of the wall and his own panting. He breathed out a sigh of relief before slumping where he sat.

He could worry about what had happened in a second.

***_*_*_*_***

"Class Rep?" Yaoyorozu softly urged Midoriya, who was shaking in his shoes. He'd just had a panic attack and now he was supposed to be giving some sort of inspiration instructions, or whatever it was he was supposed to do. He'd forgotten what it was, to be honest. He wasn't planning on telling anyone about what had happened. They'd think he was weak.

He wasn't.

"I've thought about this, a-and..." He turned his head towards the class. "I think Tenya Iida should be our rep!"

An audible wave of surprise went through the class. He spotted Danny smiling a small smirk at him and nodded, making Midoriya more confident about his decision. "He was able to get everyone's attention just now, and make sure everyone calmed down." He excluded himself from that statement. "So I believe, he should be the one leading our class."

He'd heard from _everyone_ what had happened while he was... _occupied_ with himself. It was the talk of the school, after all. Not a single person didn't know what had happened by now. Even the teachers —including Aizawa, the least social of them— had heard about it.

Iida seemed to be appreciating the gesture.

"If Midoriya vouches for him. I'm all good," Kirishima said. "Plus, he _did_ totally man up and do that!"

"Did you notice how he looked like one of those men on emergency signs when he did it? Hilarious!"

"What a waste of time," Aizawa sighed, plopping back down. "I don't care who it is, just get it done."

Danny knew it was a lie.

Iida stood up from his chair and bowed. "If Midoriya elects me for the job, I will humbly accept it! I will carry out the responsibilities of being the class rep to the fullest of my abilities!"

"Sounds good to me, Mr. Emergency Exit."

***_*_*_*_***

"Clearly someone other than the press was behind it," Sam pointed out as they all plopped down on their couch.

"What makes you say that?"

"While you two were panicking over literature," she smirked as she beckoned Danny to come closer, "I excused myself and went to investigate. There was a _massive_ hole in the wall. More like, the whole wall was gone, actually." She turned away from Tucker, who was pulling up one eyebrow in thought and grabbed his PDA to type something and walked towards his room and looked at Danny instead with a semi-hard glare. "Jacket."

"I can check my own bandages," he pouted, but he shook off the garment anyway.

"Clearly, you can't," Sam sighed as she saw red slowly spreading over the white of the bandages on his upper arm. "What did you even do?"

"I kinda sav—" He hissed as she started unraveling it. "I _saved_ Midoriya from the hallway during the breach," he said, clearly sounding annoyed. "He was panicking and I thought he was gonna faint or something. So, I pulled him out."

"And you used the wrong arm," Sam concluded as she stood up to throw out the old ones and grab new bandages.

"I'm right-handed, Sam!" he objected from his spot on the couch. "It's a reflex!"

"Eh, guys?" Tucker poked his head around the corner, and didn't even flinch as they both sneered, "What!?" He merely pointed at the hallway. "Midoriya's here...for Danny..?"

"I best be off, then!" he exclaimed. Sam didn't even try to protest before throwing the clean roll at his face and letting him run through the hallway towards the front door in his undershirt. He'd wrap it himself.

Midoriya had to blink before truly registering Danny was _actually_ wrapping himself up. He watched how Danny closed the door and leaned against the metal bars of the gallery, and was quick to join him. He fumbled with his fingers as Danny finished with the gauze, and panicked as he looked at him.

"Did you pull me out of the hallway?" he blurted out.

Danny shot him a funny look after a millisecond of hesitance. "What makes you say that?"

Midoriya reddened and tried to hide his face. "W-well... I was thinking; someone I don't know wouldn't have done it, and I'm pretty sure all the others couldn't have done it, since, you know...Quirks and all that..." He wobbly sighed to calm his nerves. This was _Danny_ he was talking to, for goodness's sake! "I'm still not sure what you can... _do_ , and all that." Shooting a hesitant at Danny, he concluded he could go on. "First, the Mist," he listed on his fingers. "We've all seen that in action. Second—" he held up another finger— "that _barrier_. Third, you said Energy was the name of your Quirk. There's no way of knowing what you can do if it has that name."

"You wanna know all about me, huh?"

"When you put it like that, I sound like a stalker," he deadpanned.

"No, I get it. I would also like to know what I can do." He laughed as Midoriya beamed. "How about...we test it out, tomorrow? Together?"

"Sounds like a plan!"


	31. Ecto-Balls

"So, your Shield is a special move, right?" Midoriya asked the moment they plopped their bags down on the ground. "And the Mist is the main?"

"You're gonna have to explain that one," Danny laughed as he set off in a light jog, Midoriya following behind him. "Wait, let me guess first— So there's a 'standard' thing you can do with your Quirk, and there's a Special Attack, of some sort. So... All Might's special is the Smash?"

"You catch on fast."

Danny shrugged. "I was kind of that person that would analyze... _Quirks_ , back in America."

Midoriya ignored the stress of the word and sheepishly smiled. "Same."

After a good few minutes of running and then stretching, Midoriya grabbed his notebook while Danny stood in the middle of the training ground, Midoriya a few feet away. "I feel like I'm putting on an act," he said as he did a spin and bowed.

"It's not like it's anyone besides me."

Danny hummed in agreement before closing his eyes and focusing on his core. An intricate process, to be fair. He had to access it, and the powers it held, without transforming in front of Midoriya. It wouldn't be a problem if he accidentally transformed while hidden, but a direct audience wouldn't be the best idea. So, holding onto the sensation with basically his mental fingertips, he held up his palm and willed the energy to seep from him into the open air.

Midoriya's jaw fell as a green ball appeared between his hands, and started making notes. Another special move? Or was the Mist a special one? Did Danny even know what his powers were? Could he tell?

Danny looked at the ball with a satisfying smirk. He could _finally_ do it.

"So is _this_ the special or is the Mist that?" Midoriya asked as he inched closer. He pointed at the ball with the edge of his pen to emphasize, "Because _that_ is _amazing_."

"I'm using things without actually paying attention to what I'm doing, so I wouldn't know."

Midoriya shook his head. "You're telling me you mastered three applications of your Quirk and you don't even know which one is your Special?"

"Pretty much."

Giving Danny an 'are you serious' look as he started throwing the ball of Energy between his hands, he shook his head and asked, "So there's the Mist, the Barrier and the...what do you call it?"

Danny rolled the ball over his palms, contemplating his answer. "We would call it a Plasma Blast, back in Amity." At seeing Midoriya frown, he explained, "I usually throw it at...the target, and then it leaves a trail of energy behind it, and when it hits, it explodes, so..."

"Boom."

Danny finger-gunned him. "Exactly."

Midoriya beamed. "Show me, please?"

***_*_*_*_***

To say Bakugou was unamused was an understatement.

What he was expecting as he walked to school early that morning, was to find Shitty Nerd breaking his bones, or embarrassing himself in front of the other Nerd. Maybe he could even get some of his _own_ training done, or something... He was urging to blow up some shit.

But _no,_ what he found instead was Shitty Nerd completely adoring Nerd Number Two, as he held a ball of green shit in his hands. So what. Big deal. Bakugou could make cool things.

He stopped _dead_ in his tracks as he found his brain going somewhere he didn't want it to go. No, _nope_. Not going there, abso-freaking-lutely not. Na-ah. he'd rather have the old hag scream obscenities at him than that.

He huffed and stepped out from behind the wall where he was _not_ hiding, but the two didn't notice him. Great. He could sneak up on them, maybe get them to do something embarrassing. Like screaming.

Midoriya stepped back from Danny as if he'd done something wrong. ' _Typical Nerd,'_ Bakugou thought. ' _Can't even keep up a normal conversation.'_ Searching for clues as to what happened, he found himself staring at Fenton. He frowned as he held the ball in his right and moved it back, and came to the realization he was about to throw it.

Bakugou snorted. As if that ball could do anything more than making a dent in a cheap dollhouse—

A ginormous rush of wind made him cover his face with his hand to keep the sand out of his eyes. "What the hell!?" he exclaimed, finally catching the attention of Midoriya, who paled. He shot his head to Danny, who didn't even seem tired from that attack.

He just had one hand to his head, as if he was looking in the distance. Without turning, or hearing Bakugou arrive, he said, "Well, it's only morning."

So he could go even larger with that— that— _explosion?_

"What the _hell_ was that!?" he demanded as he moved over to the two of them. Midoriya slightly shrunk away from him, and Danny moved so he was kind of between them. Bakugou slightly raised an eyebrow at that but ignored it as Fenton opened that arrogant mouth of his.

"Why do you wanna know, Bakugou?"

"Don't do that," he said as he pointed a threatening finger at him. "Makes me angry."

"And I'm not gonna like it when you're angry, I know. I'm still curious why." Okay, so _maybe_ Danny was panicking. He hadn't expected Bakugou to show up _this_ early. Sure, the explosive blond was early as always, but he was here _too soon, dammit._

Bakugou seemed to be thinking of an answer before crossing his arms and looking away. "Scouting the competition, as one does."

Danny nodded sarcastically before muttering an, "Enjoy the show," and walking away.

Midoriya stood between Danny, who was still moving further away, and Bakugou, who was giving him a challenging look. "Well?"

Midoriya let out a nervous laugh before muttering a quiet, "I'll leave you alone," before running after Danny, who was lighting up his hands with Energy. "You're a fast learner," he said yet again and gawked as different shades of greens appeared. "Can you control how much power you use?"

"I control how hard I wanna punch," Danny said, punching the air to emphasize his point, "and it just adjusts."

"More punch, more power? Or does it compensate?" Midoriya had so many theories. And he wanted an answer to all of them.

"Depends on how I feel," he shrugged, letting the Energy disappear.

"So your emotions affect what you do?"

"Don't piss me off or you'll know what happens," Danny laughed. "No but seriously, if I'm focused I have a better grip on it. Not full control, but just... _understanding_." He blushed as Midoriya stared at him. "Hey, I'm just saying what I'm thinking."

"Oh no, it's fine! I'd love to hear all about it."

"Don't evade training."

"I just don't want to break my bones," he sighed. "Every time I try to use my Quirk, it just... It's too much for me. I can't—"

"Biology time!" Danny exclaimed, interrupting Midoriya's self-destructing rant. He knew the wrong path of thinking when he heard it. "Why do bones break?"

"Because you're an idiot!" Bakugou yelled.

"B-because...uhh... There's too much pressure? And the bone can't handle it?"

"Or force in general," Danny added. "If you put too much physical tension on a bone, it shatters."

"But... I can only turn it on and off," Midoriya sulked. "There's no in-between."

"Yet," Danny added in a lighter tone. "Can you hold a tree pose?

Midoriya blinked. "W-what?"

"Okay, so—" Danny put one foot in the air— "the thing with balancing is that too much of one side makes you topple, right?" He put his foot back down to emphasize.

"Yes."

"You have to look at where you're standing," Danny continued as he put his foot back up. "Look at your feet. Don't be distracted. Forget about everything else for a hot minute. This is about you, and no one else. There's no system, no rules, just you, your body, and your Quirk. 

"If your moves are too erratic, you fall, but if you make them slowly, you won't. Don't go for the big one immediately. The special move will come later. Just get the basics-- _your_ basics ready, and the rest will come to you naturally."


	32. Trio vs. Teachers (1)

The middle way.

Easier said than done.

Midoriya frowned in annoyance as he sat at his desk that morning, mentally molding over what Danny had told him.

He was trying too hard? Not what he had said directly, but in Midoriya's mind, it came _pretty_ close to what he'd said. He should be trying harder to not push himself over the edge, and instead create...a platform. To stand on. _Not_ fall to his death.

Sure, 100% was cool and all, but he needed control over the outlet, or he'd break his bones more often than he could count. Maybe...he could _try_ to use less? That was a thing, right? Just...take it easier, focus a whole lot more and have less percent shoot through his bones. Less energy should prevent them from actually shattering in his body, at least. But just how much did he need to 'hold back' on? Consistently? 50%? _25_? **_10_**? It'd be not _nearly_ as powerful as a full-powered Smash, but it'd be something...

Something was better than nothing, after all.

But still...

He needed a way to figure out how to regulate it.

And soon.

***_*_*_*_***

The Training Grounds seemed peaceful, that afternoon. The two connected buildings in the form of circular cylinders, more often used later in the year, had a bit of a watery sun shining above, and few clouds obscured it from time to time. It was also quiet...

 _Too_ quiet.

That's also what Aizawa thought as he sat crouched behind one of the columns holding up the building. The other three had to have planned it all out. But _Aizawa and the others_ knew nothing, so they were waiting.

Not something Present Mic liked doing. He was constantly fidgeting with his headphones and glasses, and Aizawa could _swear_ he put the reverb on his speakers down at one point. He was planning on going easy on the kids.

Aizawa wasn't.

Ectoplasm seemed content with the situation, especially since he was the one that had thought of it in the first place. He'd laid down the ground rules also, and knowing his way around the arena particularly well, he had an advantage over Aizawa and Mic. This was _his_ Training Ground.

Nezu and some of the other teachers (All Might, Recovery Girl, Midnight, and Cementoss) were in the observation room, waiting for the match to begin as well.

Aizawa was feeling nothing in particular about it. Yes, they were his students, but they were also Heroes in their own... _world,_ for the lack of a better word. The only thing that he was feeling weird about was the fact that he'd be monitored while 'fighting', something he wasn't used to. But it'd have to happen.

A quick toot of a horn suggested the beginning of the match, but nobody moved. That was their strategy. Lure _them_ out of hiding instead of walking into a trap.

It was the only weakness they had.

They had _no clue_ what they could do.

The school had their records, but that was just what they'd told them. And sure, Aizawa had them in his classes, but there were seventeen other troublemakers he had to keep an eye on during training. All Might might've seen something, but he hadn't spoken to the man in a few days.

He enjoyed the silence _that_ gave him.

Present Mic and Ectoplasm had had them in other classes, but not physical ones. They had even littler idea than Aizawa did. And _Aizawa_ knew little.

Foley did magnets, Manson did plants and Fenton did...whatever the hell _that_ was. He could use his capture weapon as a shield against the marbles, and possibly cut through the vines. But that mist...

He had no counter for that.

Pulling his goggles over his head, he nodded at Mic, who gave him a thumbs up. Five minutes of zero action had already passed, and Aizawa was not risking the fact that they could plan something to the very detail. Because of _course,_ those kids would look up the teachers they'd be fighting against.

He used his capture weapon to propel himself upwards, and he climbed the building with practiced ease.

Mic was easy enough to find footage off, at least. He was, after all, a very public hero. And with his radio show at the side as well, there was plenty of footage to gather information from.

Another reason why Aizawa preferred to work in the shadows.

Coming to a halt on top of their half of the arena, he crept forward until he could look down on their part of the building. Not that it helped much. The lower half of the space was _packed_ with mist. Aizawa couldn't even see the floor, let alone two, maybe three floors above.

Okay, so _maybe_ they had a plan.

***_*_*_*_***

"What the hell did you do!?"

"Like I hadn't announced it?"

"You were supposed to cover half! Not the whole thing!"

"Well, I'm sorry that I 'overdid' myself for the sake of victory!"

"Like this is helping!"

Unlike Aizawa suspected, the Trio down in the base of the building wasn't working with a strategy, a plan, or _any_ structure in their actions. _At all._ They'd thought of some possible combos, obviously, but between classes, their actual mission, and things like eating and sleeping, they hadn't had much time to coordinate an attack beforehand, let alone do any research. Danny had managed to talk to Midoriya about Aizawa for a bit, but it didn't last long before he became more of a mumbling and conspiring mess that he couldn't help but tune out of. He knew a _bit_ about Present Mic since they had his radio show playing while they (Sam) were cooking at home, but that was about it. Ectoplasm? They only knew him by name.

Sam feared for Danny's well-being at hearing it.

They knew about Mic and Aizawa, but what Ectoplasm could do? Sam could only think of horrible things. Manipulating it, steering it, making it, dissolving it, or a combination of several of them or maybe even _all_ of them. He'd chosen the name with a reason, right? You look into what you call yourself as a hero. You wouldn't just...pick a random word and not figure it out.

Unless he had and she was overthinking it.

So while Sam was stressing out and Danny was annoyed, Tucker was feeling pretty good. He'd gotten some more training time the last couple of days, and he was _certain_ he could do more than at the beginning. Lifting one person was fun and all, but not very...powerful. Yet. So he'd taken on himself to try and figure out more he could do. Not that he'd told the others, of course. Blame him for not telling them he skipped out on some sleep. They used to do it all the time, but since they'd gotten here they were all about health and, dare he say it, _vitamins._

Tucker shuddered at the thought.

"Cold?" Danny asked as he crossed his arms.

Tucker gave a bored look back. "You wouldn't believe me if I said it was last night's dinner."

"What was wrong with last night's dinner!?" Sam yelled at Tucker, who had dared to insult her skills.

"Too much green!"

"Something wrong with green?" both Danny and Sam asked.

Tucker held up his hands. "Whatever."

They stuck with silence, the only sound coming from the cold air sizzling around them and Tucker's boot hitting the ground as he kicked at some loose rocks of asphalt. The small stones rolled around a while before coming to a halt, and Tucker sighed.

"What's wrong now?"

"Sheesh, I'm breathing. Excuse me."

"Are we going to attack or what?" Sam interrupted them. The nerves were getting to her, and she wanted to finish this off as soon as possible. "Or do you need some cooling-off time?"

"Danny star—"

"I'm always coo—"

Then they heard the scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> join the discord! talk about the series, get some juicy extra's, and have some fun with me and other fans!  
> https://discord.gg/nkXhRt3


	33. Trio vs. Teachers (2)

Ectoplasm couldn't help but cringe a bit at the sensation of Mic's scream thumping and resonating in his head. He had been behind him, as directed, but still. That man's vocals capabilities were abnormal.

He didn't want to be around while he was singing in the shower.

"Think that got their attention?" Mic beamed back at Ectoplasm and Aizawa, who had just returned. "I think it did."

"Let's just hope it gets them moving," Aizawa said wryly, not wanting to spend any more time on talking. Couldn't this just be over and done with? He'd wrap it —the kids— up, throw them into Nezu's office, and crawl home and into his sleeping bag. Maybe he could make tea instead of coffee. Maybe he could grade some homework. Who knew. He didn't because he was still _stuck_ _here_. "They'll be moving away from us," he continued, "so we move along."

"Cat and mouse, whooo!" Mic hollered as he nearly jumped on Ectoplasm's back. He somehow managed to contain himself and dodged to the side, where he nearly stumbled into Aizawa. "Eraser, tell me—" he started hesitantly, "are you really trying to fight them? We just want to see what they can do, right?"

"If we want to see what they can do, we have to push them," Ectoplasm answered for Aizawa, who seemed glad for it. Mic turned to Ectoplasm with a cock of his head. "Students show the best of their abilities and skills when they think they're done for. They need to be at that level constantly, so familiarizing them with the feeling will only help."

"But they're so... _baby,_ " Mic said.

"They're nearly adults, Hizashi."

He didn't have time to do anything before they entered the second cylinder of the labyrinth-training-ground. The cold air seemed to creep into their clothes, making Mic shiver and pull at the sleeves of his jacket. Okay, cold. Just dandy. That made his throat do all kinds of funny things he didn't find funny. Eraser enjoyed seeing him struggle with his ability to talk, but he wasn't gonna let that happen.

"I shall scout the area," was the only warning Ectoplasm gave before he breathed out some sort of gray thick... _moist_ that formed six clones. They stood still for less than a second before they raced off, all in different directions. "We will have them in no-time."

Aizawa snuggled further into his scarf. "Or they'll have us."

***_*_*_*_***

"Okay, so...what's the plan?"

Sam shot an annihilating glare at Tucker, whose eyes widened in shock of being accused of inattentiveness. Like he didn't know. Mic had literally yelled at them to 'do something', so they'd turned to their plan-master who thought it had been a good idea to make their whole fighting pit one big field of mist. Danny had, of course, taken the brunt of the attack. Though involuntarily, for once.

Though not in Ghost Form, some abilities lingered while he was in his human form. So, being the one closest to the other half of the building, the scream had 'body'-slammed him into the floor. And with his sensitive senses and all, his ears were now ringing. He just hoped it'd stop soon.

He made a questioning face at them, not having understood what Tucker had said to piss Sam off. "What?" Luckily, he could still guess how loud he was talking.

"What's the _plan_ ," Tucker over-articulated.

"The plan? What plan?"

"Exactly..." Sam mumbled.

Before either of the boys could protest, a sudden gush of wind flew between them, followed by a head poking out of the mist. "Hello."

Maybe they screamed.

***_*_*_*_***

"They're on the third floor," Ectoplasm suddenly said. The other two perked up, trying to see what was happening. Some battle-sounds echoed within the walls, with no clear point of origin. "On our left," he clarified. "What is the plan?"

"Mic distracts them and tries to split them up. We'll take one each depending on where they end up," Aizawa said with a clear tone that it wasn't up for debate. He wanted to finish this, get out of the camera's sights —had they fixed the mist-issue yet?— and leave.

"Sounds like a plan," Mic grinned before taking one step forward, directing his head in the right direction and screaming, "YEEAAAAHHHH!"

Aizawa could hear the surprised and pained yelps coming from the general direction of Mic's attack and decided he'd move a floor or two upwards, in case they _didn't_ jump off. Ectoplasm would go to the other side and Mic would keep his distance. Manson could make a staircase, Foley could float himself down, and Fenton might have something up his sleeve as well. _Should_ they be able to think under these conditions.

He was proven wrong as he nearly bumped into the latter on the second floor.

He could see Fenton's eyes widen before he rolled to the side and stayed in a low crouch. Aizawa jumped back, goggles in place, and capture weapon at the ready. He activated his Quirk in an instant out of instinct and could see Fenton panic as he saw his hair starting to float.

Aizawa jumped around before charging, but Fenton rolled out of the way before he could grab him. Fenton backed up until his heels were close to of the edge of the floor, close to falling over 30 feet down. Aizawa fell into a crouch as Fenton had a few seconds ago, and paused.

He wanted to see what Fenton could do without being close to falling.

He dropped his Quirk's hold on the teen and watched with slight surprise how he stumbled as his Quirk was returned to him. Aizawa knew Fenton's Quirk was strong, but this was the first time he saw someone _physically adapting_ to regaining it. He'd have to ask later, but right now, he had to make sure he didn't plummet to his death.

Fenton blinked as his feet seemed to lose their grip on the edge of the concrete of the floor, and he toppled right over the edge, out of Aizawa's sight. The man immediately jumped after the teen. He'd wanted to push them, but he didn't want them _dead_.

Aizawa couldn't see the teen falling before he landed, but Fenton wasn't laying on the concrete as well. What had happened? Did Ectoplasm catch him? Manson or Foley do it?

Did he catch himself?

Something tugged at his foot and he was quick to jump away while spinning around. The vines protruded from the ground and waved back and forth in front of Aizawa, seemingly taunting him as they moved towards him and retreated again. He extended his capture weapon and seamlessly cut through the plants, and frowned as nothing happened. They just...fell to the ground and stayed there. No re-growing heads or anything, bu—

He yelped as his footing was lost to him. Now hanging upside down, apparently, he looked at his feet. Another vine was wrapped around his ankles and disappeared into the mist. Great. They actually _did_ have a plan.

Aizawa crossed his arms and sighed. These kids were gonna be the death of him one day, with their constant improvements and surprises. How they managed to get so synced up in just a few years was _beyond_ him, but it was quite impressive nonetheless. He was glad they would be on their side of the battle.

He could hear Ectoplasm use his special move, the Forced Internment Giant Bites, and within a second, Manson yelped and the hold on his ankles loosened. Aizawa pummeled towards the ground and just managed to twist himself in the air and roll over his shoulder instead of landing on his head.

Aizawa took a second to reorient himself, looking around the near vicinity, and slowly crept forward. Into the mist, into the fight, into the danger.

He just wanted a nap.


	34. Trio vs. Teachers (3)

"I'm surprised none of them have hurt themselves yet," Midnight stated as she stretched her hands above her head and popped her back. Placing her hands on her hips, she turned to Recovery Girl. "I doubt if you'll be needed."

"Knowing them, it'll come," she sighed, eyes fixated on the screens in front of her.

Cementoss held up his hands, signaling for them to calm down. "Let's not jinx it," he slowly said. "If they can prevent anyone from getting hurt, it will only be for the best." He, too, turned to the screens, where they could see Manson trying to escape and Foley hiding from Present Mic's yelling. "They don't need to directly make them unconscious. Locking them in —rendering them immobile— is enough to win."

"It would certainly make my job a whole lot easier," Recovery Girl added, sending a pointing glare at All Might, who was oblivious to it.

He was completely engrossed in the fight displayed on the screens, not hearing any of the continuous banter between his colleagues. He had had enough time to figure out the fighting styles and trademarks of the Pro Heroes standing on the battlefield if he was stuck in the Teacher's Lounge regenerating energy, and he had been watching the students during the training exercises he did for the class. But...never in _this_ context.

They weren't fighting to test their limits or get advice from an experienced fighter. They were fighting to _win_. To _stay_. To save lives. If they were to lose, they'd be sent back and they'd have to leave it to them. All Might had not been given details, but it wouldn't end well. For many of them.

Foley had managed to circle Mic, who was still yelling in that same direction and started attacking his directional speakers. The Pro Hero let out an exclamation from both surprise and terror that he could even hear in their Observation Room. It didn't take long before the device was nothing more than a pulp of metal and wires, completely butchered by _marbles_. _'A sneak attack,'_ All Might realized. He'd never thought of an obvious long-range Quirk-user to get so close to their opponent.

Ectoplasm's giant clone stood in the center of the cylindrical building, making the space between the walls even smaller than it already was. Manson was stuck in the hardened material, obviously not amused and trying to break out. A futile attempt at using her feet to propel herself out of her situation didn't go unnoticed.

"Smart kid," Midnight commented at seeing it. "Smarter than some of the other students. Or even some teachers." She stuck out her tongue at Cementoss's quick glare and turned back to the screens. "Can't wait to see what her next move is."

"Nothing if she doesn't want to break bones," Recovery Girl sassed.

"Is that wolfsbane!?" Cementoss suddenly cried out.

Sam Manson was making a plant grow out of the wall. A long, thin, green stalk split into all kinds of directions, making contact with the substance she was stuck in, but it avoided her. It developed little buds that immediately turned into tall purple flowers, dark green spiked leaves not far ahead.

"What's so special about...wolfsbane, did you call it?" All Might asked. "It's a _flower_."

"As do most think," he replied, eyes still wide. "Ever heard of aconitine?"

"A dreadful thing, if I might interject," Nezu suddenly spoke up. "I am most aware of the dangers of this toxin."

"Toxin?" Recovery Girl exclaimed.

"Most certainly," Cementoss continued. "It is a heavy neurotoxin and depolarizes the neuronal sodium channels in anyone who touches it!" he said as if he just discovered electricity. At seeing their blank stares, he sighed. "It causes diarrhea, convulsions, and in extreme cases, even death."

"And she is using it on her capturer!" Nezu chirped.

"Are we collectively ignoring the fact that she is, in fact, murdering her teacher!?"

"It only takes effect after an hour," Cementoss frowned, ignoring her, "so I don't see the point in using it now."

Midnight snorted. "Maybe look instead of speculating."

The hardened material stated vibrating and falling apart as they watched the screen. The girl jumped out with an unhealthy amount of agility, gave a quick two-finger salute at the camera, and ran off.

"Let me get this straight," Recovery Girl sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "she used a deadly plant on her teacher and you're worried about strategy?"

"Anyone want some tea?" Nezu suddenly chirped.

"W-what brew?"

"Nettle."

"Pass," they all said.

***_*_*_*_***

_'Where in the_ ** _world_** _did he go!?'_ Sam frantically thought to herself as she ran around the base of the ground floor. Surely, after falling and catching himself, Danny would hide under the stairs or something. Apparently not, because she had checked and he wasn't there. As she passed the entryway to the other half of the building, she could see Tucker and Mic...fighting. If that was what it was. They would keep each other busy for now, and it looked like Tucker was winning anyway.

That was one less thing to worry about. Now all she had to do was find Danny and avoid--

"Going somewhere?"

\--the cloning creep.

As she turned to the side, she went over all her knowledge on plants in her head. And she evaluated what would be most useful in this situation. The man turned out to have absolutely _nothing_ to do with the _material_ ectoplasm, which Sam was glad for. He could just clone himself a yet undetermined amount of times. Just _wonderful_.

Where was _her_ clone-creating sidekick?

"I was planning on staying, actually," she shot back. She needed to think fast. It was just her and him here, right? If Aizawa was around, he'd be so far away he wouldn't get in the way for now. He would've heard them and would've jumped in by now. Danny could turn intangible (he was probably just watching her invisibly right now, the asshole) so he wouldn't be in danger. "And you're not going anywhere." She held her hands in fists and looked at him.

"Danny, no-touch!" she yelled out, and she hit her fists on the ground. As if an earthquake suddenly hit, the ground shook with Sam in the center of it all. She looked up from the ground, giving him a challenging look.

Ectoplasm was at a loss. No obvious attacks were happening, and he had no idea why she'd yelled at the boy to do something. And what was 'no-touch' supposed to mean? Staring intently at her, he moved his leg.

Big mistake, because a ginormous Venus Flytrap shot from the ground and snapped shut right where he would've been if he'd moved. He gasped in surprise as it slowly sunk back into the ground, now being at the bottom of a giant sinkhole.

Ectoplasm shot her an alarmed look, which she returned with a shrug, hands still connected to the floor. He traced the lines in the concrete of the floor, seeing a pattern.

So that was what she'd done.

"Smart move," he noted as he slowly looked down. "Creating a natural minefield." He kicked at the now broken floor with his prosthetic, sending several small pebbles rolling. They didn't get much further than ten feet before a plant protruded from the ground.

Sam shot him a challenging smirk.

He swallowed.

***_*_*_*_***

Danny was, in contradiction to Sam's deduction, indeed on the ground floor. Instead of hiding, he was looking for her. He hadn't known she'd escaped so he was scanning the ginormous extra pillar in the middle for her. Finding the hole with the flowers surrounding it and the decaying of the clone, he figured she must've found a way out.

He avoided touching the flowers.

When she'd yelled out his name and an indirect way of telling him to go intangible, he'd done it in an instant, despite only hearing half of it. He found her, crouched on the floor, and refrained from reaching out. She was trying to focus, and he didn't want to ruin her moment.

Ectoplasm —which he still found a weird name— was trying to move, but the ginormous snap trap made it impossible for him to do so. Danny's eyes widened in surprise at seeing the scale of the attack. Looking over the floor from a bit higher, he could see a clear distribution; more traps around him, less around her.

Still invisible and intangible, he looked down at Sam's challenging face.

God, he was so in love.


	35. Trio vs. Teachers (4)

Aizawa was, maybe, panicking a tad.

Mist. Sure, he could handle some cold air, as well as Ectoplasm. Mic might be struggling with it and his Quirk from time to time, but he seemed to have it under control today. Luckily for them, it wasn't very thick or very cold. Their sight was a bit less, but so was theirs. He thought. Besides, it had started clearing out already, anyway.

Marbles. Those little metal balls wouldn't do much damage until used in a directed attack, and it would leave them without a long-range defense. All they had to do was keep a fair distance from them and make Foley use his attack, so they could move in. That had been the plan, at least.

Plants. Aizawa wasn't sure what Manson had in store for them, but _plants_. Nothing to be worried about. She could maybe create some cover, move them a bit, but how she'd attack? He had had no idea.

Now he did.

He sat crouched on top of Ectoplasm's special move, looking down on the scene. Mic and Foley were in the other building, and where Fenton was? He had no idea. So it was just Ectoplasm and Manson down there. And she had the upper hand. Even from way up there he could see the vague outlines of the plants. He doubted if one could see them if they were down there. It was up to him to get Ectoplasm out of there. He went to stand, Capture Weapon at the ready and goggles in place. Attacking the Girl would get her to drop...whatever attack that was. Sending one end of his scarf to one of the pillars, he was ready to jump down.

He was glad he had been slow or he would have fallen.

 _...Something_ had blocked the material from reaching the pillar, and it now hung loosely over the edge. Aizawa frowned at it and peered down the building. "What in the world..."

Danny could barely hide his snicker as he floated behind Aizawa. He'd noticed the wanna-be ninja up there a while ago, and after quietly letting know Sam what he was doing, he had gone up there, just in time to kick Aizawa's scarf out of the sky. The look on his face was _priceless_. And now it was just waiting for his next move and stop it.

Aizawa seemed to notice something was up because he looked behind him. Danny, still invisible, grinned, and waved. The searching gaze that he had on his face couldn't be hidden beneath those weird goggles. He turned back to face the other way within seconds.

Aizawa jumped.

Danny blinked, and muttered a quick and quiet, "Crud." He dove after him, forgetting about invisibility for a second. Now, flying, he could explain. Using (invisible) energy to propel himself forward wouldn't be that much of a stretch. Having white hair, another eye color, and _glowing?_ No, that would be a problem. Ever since Aizawa had blocked his Quirk and returned it literally ten seconds after, he'd been stuck in Ghost Form, as if he had had a relapse. 

He reached for Aizawa's ankle, but the man just pulled it back, making Danny have to accelerate to reach him before he would splat on the floor. Nobody was wanting an Aizawa-Pancake today. No, sir.

Aizawa's leg was suddenly stretched again.

The sole of his shoe met Danny's face, sending him flying back up. He blinked at the sudden shift in gravity and realized he was spinning in the air. His brain wouldn't connect to his muscles, though, and he hit the ground before he could do anything. He could vaguely hear Sam and Tucker (Tucker?) yelling at him as he came to a stop on his side, a flash of cold sweeping over him. Groaning, he put one hand on the floor in front of his head, blinking away the splotches of white dancing across his vision.

"Danny, don't _move_ you **_idiot_**!" Sam cried out. He had, of course, landed in the middle of her improvised mine-field, not even fifteen feet away from Ectoplasm, who was also looking at him with a semi-worried look.

Tucker had had only seen him hit the ground before he was tackled to the ground by Aizawa, who came out of literally nowhere. He yelped, rolled away, and opened his pockets. "Sam! How's it looking!?" he yelled as _all_ his marbles shot towards and around Aizawa.

"Not good," she replied, a clear shake in her voice. "He'd already been _hit by Mic_ , Tucker! This is the s-second time..!"

Tucker clenched his fists, making his marbles vibrate in place instead of shooting around at full speed. He glared at Aizawa in the middle, who looked back at him without any clear emotion on his face. Tucker unclenched his fists, moved his hands backward before thrusting them forwards. The marbles shot towards Aizawa, unceasing him in a metal prison. The outer marbles pressed against each other, making them melt together into a solid surface. He didn't let his hands drop beside him and instead turned around.

Sam was still on her knees, keeping a close eye on Ectoplasm, who hadn't dared move. "I'll make a path," she gritted out before the ground rumbled again. "Got some left?"

"I have enough," Tucker said as he walked past her. He paused beside her and gave her shoulder a soft squeeze before running towards their friend. He shot a quick glance at Ectoplasm, who merely looked at him with his unmovable grin.

"I can walk..." Danny protested meekly before attempting to sit up.

Coming to a halt, he released the remainder of his marbles and made them roll under his friend, and lifted him up. "No way on this plane of existence am I letting you stand up right now. Just...let us take care of you, okay?"

Danny sighed, but let himself be carried back to Sam anyway. "What'd you do to Present Mic, anyway?"

"I took his glasses and threatened to break them."

Sam gave Ectoplasm one last glare before making one of the plants protrude around him, just inches from snapping closed. "You move, you get hurt."

He nodded.

"Sam, I'm _fine_ ," he protested as she took hold of his chin and moved his head around. He hissed as she poked at his temple and gave a sheepish smile. "Okay, maybe not completely, but I will be."

"Dude, what happened?" Tucker said as he criss-cross sat down beside them. "You were, you know...in the other form when you fell."

"Not sure, but I'll explain later," he sighed. "I kinda have a headache."

Sam 'tsk'-ed. "Of course you do. You basically hit your head _twice_ in fifteen minutes. Recovery Girl will have your head. Even though technically, they both weren't his fault." She shot a glare at the metal tube in which Aizawa was trapped. "I'll have _his_ head soon."

"Let's not rush into things now," Tucker quickly said.

Danny sent Sam a tired look. "Can we go home now?"

She gave a soft smile back. "Of course."

***_*_*_*_***

"They get to stay," Nezu declared before turning off the camera feed. He turned towards the teachers in the room, who were all staring at the now black surface. "You may take some time to yourselves. We shall discuss this later this afternoon. Recovery Girl, if you'd please?"

"That was...intense," Midnight muttered as she turned to leave. "I didn't think anyone would go that far."

"Who? Aizawa or those two kids?" Cementoss sarcastically asked as he fell in step beside her.

"They all went far," Recovery Girl butted in, "and now I have to clean up."

"Good luck!" Cementoss called after her and Nezu.

"There's no denying their potential, though," she huffed with amusement. "Seeing someone in direct danger was a good motivator for them, even though they maybe should've stepped up their game earlier. What do you think, All Might?" Midnight asked as she turned to walk backward while looking at him. "Thinking about how you would've done it?"

He snapped back to reality at the direct call-out. "Eh, as a matter of fact, yes."

"Would you have done better?" Cementoss asked.

"Of course," All Might said.

He lied.


	36. Debrief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I vanished for 2 weeks after updating 4 days consecutively I'm sorry. My school has some literature report deadlines around the end of the year and guess what I haven't been doing all year x))  
> So no, I haven't died or anything, but I won't be as active these upcoming two or three weeks.  
> Enjoy this mess of a chapter.

"Your self-destructiveness is getting worse," Sam scolded as soon as Recovery Girl left the room after being called by Cementoss. She gave Danny a pointed stare at seeing him sputter for an excuse. "Yes, you didn't get hurt on purpose —this time— but you did want to keep going after you went down. Have you no self-preservation? At all?"

"I mean, he kind of tried to save someone..?" Tucker hesitantly provided for his friend. He gulped at Sam's head whipping in his direction, and he held up his hands as he took a step backward. "Getting hurt while saving people isn't out of the ordinary. Not for _him_ , anyway."

" _And_ ," Danny butted in, "I wasn't exactly expecting to be hit by someone who was falling to his death as I dove after him to save his ass."

Sam sighed and crossed her arms, but rolled her eyes nonetheless. "Okay, _fine_. Point for the two dorks." She sighed and looked at the closed door to the office. "When's de debrief, anyway? Nezu seemed kind of excited about the idea of talking to us about it. Can't say the same."

"Why?"

"Be _cause_ ," she nearly snarled, "you were _transformed_. On _camera_. I hope you got an excuse cooked up and ready to be served."

Danny's eyes widened. " ** _Shit_**."

"Dude, the only time they could've seen it is when you fell," Tucker said. "That was point two seconds at best."

"And it'll be the highlight of the afternoon," Danny groaned as he fell back into his pillows and rubbed at his temples with his hands. "Man, my headache is being a little shit right now." He hopefully looked up at Tucker. "Any chance you can hack into the system? Corrupt the files, or something?"

"Language," Sam mumbled absent-mindedly. She was staring right into Nezu's beady and knowing eyes as he stood in the now opened door. "Principal Nezu," she said with a little more volume than necessary, alerting the boys of his presence.

"Good afternoon," he chirped back as if he'd heard nothing. Sam gulped, not believing his oblivious facade. "Are you three ready? We would like to start the debrief soon. Or do you need more time, Mr. Fenton?" he asked, turning to the addressed teen.

"I'm good to go," he said back with a strained smile. "One second." He gave an alarmed glance at Tucker before he stood from the bed and started working on his shoes. Grabbing the sweater Sam had brought, he accepted the supporting arm Tucker provided for him.

"Follow me, please!" the principal cheered as he turned.

They followed as they shared glances. _'We're doomed.'_

***_*_*_*_***

At first, Danny found the meeting to be smooth sailing. There were more random comments made than questions asked, for which he was both grateful and hesitant. Had they not seen anything? Were they waiting for the opportune moment to strike? While they weren't paying close enough attention? Danny could only wait.

"I have a few remarks I would like to share," Aizawa said.

 _'This is it,'_ Danny thought miserably. _'I've been made and they'll never let us stay. Say goodbye to this dimension. It was nice knowing you all, 1-A. Farewell, goodbye, and_ ** _toodles_** _.'_

"First of all," he started, glancing at the three teenagers that were shifting in their seats, "you all have improved since you came here. Physically and mentally. You two with your Quirks--" he looked at Sam and Tucker-- "and _you_ at hiding your _actual_ potential."

Mic visibly sat up straighter, suddenly very interested. 

"What do you mean?" All Might butted in before Mic could. "You mean he can do _more_?"

"Let the kid explain himself instead of talking about him like he's not here," Midnight sighed. She turned to him with a reassuring smile. "You probably have a good reason for not telling, but we would appreciate if you tell us the truth."

"Time-paradoxes," Sam answered for Danny. She semi-glared at all the teachers after sending Danny a glance. "Nothing else you need to know. Clockwork will let us know when the _time_ is right to tell you everything, or you won't know."

"What she said..."

"We understand," Nezu said. "Protecting the flow of events is more important than telling a secret to people you haven't known for more than a few weeks." He turned to Aizawa, who was looking at the kids. "Eraser, do you have more 'remarks' you'd like to make?"

"You may have gotten stronger, but you need to learn to control yourselves." It almost seemed like he was out to get them as he sent them a hard stare. "You went overboard."

"Oh, _we_ went overboard?" Tucker huffed. "I didn't nearly _kill_ someone. **_Twice_**."

" _He_ only went for my Directional Speakers and glasses," Mic added as he turned to Nezu, who had turned into the judge of the debacle in an instant. "Never did he even directly hit me, and I haven't even fought the other two." He turned back to the teens. "I apologize for... _yelling_ so loud. I was hyped, you know?"

"It's fine, Mr. Mic. And thank you," Danny said.

"Might I remind you of the fact he closed in Aizawa using an attack driven by anger?"

"He just saw his friend pummeling to the ground from very high and not moving!" Midnight exclaimed, making All Might shrink in his seat. And even though she was disagreeing with him, she could swear she saw both Aizawa and Sam smirk a bit at seeing her yell at him. "Imagine thinking you're seeing your partner die. Also; he kept a hole for air and a bit of light, as has been said before. He was right in his ways."

Tucker shot a grateful look back.

"I would like to bring up Miss Manson's clever attack," Ectoplasm spoke up. "Her strategy included bribery and threatening, no real physical attack or influence. I must admit I could not escape."

"And the wolfsbane-move was outstanding, though dangerous. You managed to use it well, Miss Manson," Cementoss added.

Sam raised an eyebrow as a soft blush rose to her cheeks. "Thank you..?"

"Unfortunately, there is little footage of Mr. Fenton," Nezu said. "I wish to speak with you in private later."

Danny nodded. "Of course."

"It would seem you three are very capable of handling yourself," Nezu concluded. "And others, for that fact. You looked out for each other and managed to work together in such a way that some Pros might even take some notes from!"

"And you managed to keep injuries to a minimum, considering what happened," Recovery Girl praised.

"It was in everybody's best interest," Danny snorted. "But thank you."

"Where do you three wish to go from here?" Nezu asked as he leaned backward a tad and folded his arms over each other. "I can imagine this all sounded very promising, but there is always room for improvement. Any questions or requests?"

"New outfits," Sam blurted out. "I-I mean...they're _great_ ," she rambled on, "and I respect who made them, not gonna lie, but I have some... _changes_ I'd like to implement in the design."

Midnight pouted. "I like your Hero Costume..."

Danny gave her shoulder a playful shove and was returned with a glare that said he'd be dead by the next morning. "I have some small adjustments I'd like to make as well."

"Mine is perfect as it is," Tucker said, looking smug. "Mistakes who? I don't—"

"And I'd like to speak with Mr. Mic in private," Danny interrupted Tucker. He turned to said Pro Hero, who was looking baffled. "I've got some questions relating to my Quirk that he can answer. If you want to, that is."

"I'd be my pleasure, Little Listener!" he beamed back. "Just let me know whenever!"

"Thanks, Mr. Mic."

"I think that'll be all, then?" Nezu said, looking around the room. "Well then— with the exception of Mr. Fenton here, I will see you all on Monday!"

Tucker sighed, mumbling, "Can't wait..."


	37. Unlocked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello i finished my literary file for this year and i wanted to celebrate, so have an update.
> 
> This one's V juicy.

"I hope I can assume you do not think of me as an idiot," Nezu said, a smile on his face and fire in his eyes. Danny gulped and shrunk into himself as he looked into those pits of black. He cringed as Nezu pulled up a still from him mid-fall, white hair prominent in the middle and green glowing lines where his eyes must've been. Nezu turned to Danny with a neutral expression, folding his hands together. "But I am interested in this. Why didn't you tell?"

Danny contemplated his answer. There was no way he was getting out of this situation with less than telling some things that even remotely resembled the truth. Midoriya had talked to him about Quirks, so he knew some basics, nothing more than the surface of the lore he was supposed to be familiar with. He had pretended to be the user of an emitter-Quirk and falling into more than one category would completely throw everyone off. No-one was supposed to be in two categories.

And yet here he was.

"I..." He fumbled with his hands, accepting the situation for what it was in the moment. "I wanted to seem _approachable_ ," he started as he let his hands fall into his lap and looked at Nezu. "If the others were to find out I was some over-powered random person that showed up, they'd be suspicious. Or at least be wary of me. I... _We_ needed to seem innocent, young, curious about what was going on. Foreigners entering a new land, a new school, a new environment." He relaxed a tad as Nezu didn't do anything but blink at him, that weird smile still on the principal's face.

"Also, if they'd find out, things would go wrong... Would've, days ago. That was the only thing Clockwork directly told us before we went. The details... Trust me if I say you don't want to know."

Nezu grabbed the pot of tea from its stand and poured two cups, sliding one over the desks towards the teen. "What you are saying is that the students couldn't know, for their safety."

Danny blew on the tea and grimaced behind the hot steam. "For more people than theirs..." He put the cup back down and stared at his hands. "Principal Nezu..." He lifted his eyes to him. "It would have endangered not one, but _two_ lives."

Nezu merely nodded at the confession as he sipped at his tea. "I understand. And I have learned that the three of you will let us know what we need to know. I trust your judgment, and if there's anything you need, please, do not hesitate to ask. U.A. has access to many things, and the teachers will also help if they are asked to." He put his cup back down and sent an encouraging smile towards Danny. "I understand your worry with...some of the teachers."

Danny's eyes widened a tad as he lifted his gaze to Nezu. "Wha..."

"They can seem intimidating, powerful, or like obstacles for your mission," Nezu continued without hesitation, " _but_ they want nothing more than to help. Some are more direct about it than others, but they all want what is best for you. And if there's a problem, you can always talk to them, right?"

***_*_*_*_***

To say Danny felt distracted most of the weekend was an understatement. Nezu had assured him he understood, would talk to Aizawa to make sure he would not act on anything he saw and had made him drink the tea and sent him home after making him promise he'd have some conversations with some people. Danny only remembered leaving the office, walking up the stairs, and Sam's worried smile as he entered their apartment. 

The next thing he knew, he was on the training grounds.

Midoriya must've noticed him space out because he had been sending worried glances from behind his notebook ever since they entered the gates. Danny snapped out of his trance and sent a tired smile back. "I'm fine."

Midoriya hastily waved his hands back and forth. "I-I didn't..!"

"I know those looks," Danny said as he stretched his arms above his head and lay his hands on his head. "Sam and Tucker do it all the time when they think I'm feeling off. But really, thanks. I would've been standing there for another hour, and we got shit to do."

Midoriya was quick to nod and make a determined fist. "Let's do it!"

***_*_*_*_***

Sleeping in by even 10 minutes by snoozing once was a mistake. After having been so strict about it for years on end, Bakugou wasn't even sure why he decided to press the button after the alarm went off. He hadn't even slept in that time and instead stared at the ceiling for what felt like two seconds until the alarm went off for a second time.

His parents had looked at him with knowing eyes when he did finally come downstairs to eat breakfast. He ignored them pointedly and left them to their own conversation, not even trying to understand what they were talking about. He scarfed down his food, threw his books in his bag, and slammed the door as he walked out. 

The park was already busy, but he couldn't be bothered with the looks he was thrown. They always did, so he was used to it anyway. U.A. was quiet as could be around half-past seven in the morning. The Nerds weren't screaming, so he figured there was something more important going on. Not that he cared, or anything. He was slow to walk around the corners of the building and onto the sandy fields and halted just before he came into view.

He watched how Fenton was talking to Deku with a smile on his face, speaking excitedly, but not loud enough for Bakugou to make out individual words. The Damn Nerd seemed to be flabbergasted by the words as if the secrets of the universe were being laid out in front of him. Bakugou briefly wondered how long they'd been standing there, Fenton speaking as if he were a guru with all the knowledge in the world, but banished the thought. Deku nodded at the words, eyes wide with a sparkle in them as they widened and he seemed to realize something.

"I got it!"

Bakugou huffed in slight amusement at the exclamation. As _if._

"Just focus!" Fenton encouraged from a small distance. Damn, when had he moved? One moment he was on one end of the field and the next he was halfway across. It made it easier for him to catch words though, so Bakugou wasn't complaining. "Constant flow and not too much energy!"

Bakugou actively chose not to huff and opted to watch silently instead. _'Scouting the competition,'_ he told himself. Deku was standing still, hands clenched into fists at his sides and eyes closed. Fenton had stopped yelling stupid encouragements at him, so Bakugou glanced back at him. 

Fenton looked right back at him, arms crossed, and no particular emotion on his face. Almost as if saying, _'Just you wait, Bakugou. He'll do something you wouldn't even dream of doing.'_ It was oddly specific in his head, but Bakugou wasn't trusting his mind today anymore. The fact that he was even thinking about it in the _first_ place said enough.

Fenton huffed and shook his head before turning back to Deku, and Bakugou did the same.

Whether it had been good or bad he had ever decided to actually spend time and energy paying attention to the two, and even though he usually regretted it, it had been certainly a good idea this morning. Also coming later, staying quiet, and not immediately blowing up. Not that he was planning on doing that more often. One measly show wasn't going to be doing that. Deku was still that useless bastard he was two months ago.

But he had to admit: that green lightning was kind of cool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't even @ me


	38. Upgrades

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> celebratory update for having made it to 10k hits! that's insane! thanks to everyone who has been reading, whether you're a lurker, a silent enjoyer, a Kudo-giver, or a commenter, this wouldn't have happened without you! so thanks!

"Finally," Sam sighed as they walked onto the school grounds. "I've been waiting for this for ages."

"It's been a week," Danny frowned. "Surely, you know you're exaggerating." Tucker had been getting annoyed by Sam's complaints about her costume and had talked to 'Hatsume' the day before. She was more than happy to help, having been granted access to one of Power Loader's workshop earlier that week. Tucker had been excited to announce they could drop by before school the day after. "I just hope she can fix the shit."

Sam smacked his arm before striding into the building, followed closely by Tucker. Danny looked at the pager as he walked behind the two, checking the messages. Dani had been in charge of Clockwork's, apparently, because the screen was filled up with all kinds of jokes and joking sneers at their age. Pursing his lips, he contemplated making some comments back, but the shrieks coming from somewhere ahead made him decide against it.

He pocketed the pager and stole a quick glance at his phone before making his way over to the workshop. The black smoke was more annoying than anything else, and he was quick to find the source. Tucker was sitting against the wall, laughing and coughing at the same time, while Sam was tapping her foot, waiting for him to finish.

A girl with pink hair was handling a fire-extinguisher like she was a professional, and laughing in victory. Danny figured that this had to be Hatsume. "What a banger!" she exclaimed as she put the fire-extinguisher down and pulled her goggles up to sit atop her head. She grinned at the black spot on the workbench and turned. "...Sorry about that!" Seemingly surprised to see them, she cleared her throat and stepped to the side, where she pulled their three suitcases from.

How she'd gotten hold of them was beyond Danny, but he didn't think he wanted to know.

"I've taken a look at the things, but nothing looks good on the hanger, does it?" Hatsume turned back. "Sorry you nearly got blown up," she offered to Tucker, who had managed to catch his breath.

"It's fine," he laughed. "Been through worse." Sam elbowed him in his side and smiled at Hatsume and the cases. Tucker crumbled a bit but managed to remain upright. He shot a quick glare at Sam but turned back to Hatsume within half a second before nodding at the cases. "Ideas yet?"

Hatsume grinned. "You won't believe what I have in mind."

Five minutes and a quick wardrobe-change later, the Trio stood in front of Hatsume, fully decked out with all the gear in the cases. Hatsume walked past them and hummed in dissatisfaction at seeing something she didn't like, and sometimes even shook her head. "Good base," she said, "but bad execution." She grabbed Danny's hand and looked him in the eye as she shook his hand back and forth. " _Spandex_?"

"It's very aerodynamic!"

"Last time I checked, you weren't a speeder but a barbarian, or a rogue or something." She grinned at Tucker, who had snorted for some reason, and dropped his hand back before shrugging. "You want a spandex base? Fine with me. Just let me do my thing otherwise."

"Are you sure you're allowed to do this?" Sam asked skeptically as she crossed her arms. "Not that I don't want you to work your magic on our suits, but I don't want Nezu breathing down our necks because we did something we weren't supposed to."

"Who cares!" Hatsume yelled as she grabbed a piece of paper with gibberish and started tapping at a section. "See? Ideas galore! Trust me and you'll be fine!" She dropped the paper on a workbench and put her hands on her hips. "And if you're worried about Nezu, don't be. Power Loader will vouch for me. By the way! You are also the first and only ones getting upgrades from me before the tournament! My babies will be at your disposal only!" She waved at Danny. "Gloves. Here."

Danny did as he was told under a scrutinizing gaze coming from Sam. "What?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me about the circuits," Tucker practically beamed as he bounced over to her. "I thought about how to regulate the electricity without overloading the wires, but I couldn't figure out how to use the panels without implementing a kill-switch as well."

"Gibberish alert!"

"Oh hush you barbarian," Tucker replied easily. He smiled as Hatsume laughed at his apparent joke before turning back to the workbench. As Hatsume started explaining her plan in barely-English to Tucker, Sam and Danny shared a glance before moving themselves to the hallway.

***_*_*_*_***

"What was what all about?"

"What was what about?" Sam shot back, crossing her arms and leaning against the window to look at the training fields. Midoriya was working hard with that new thing he had finally managed, and according to Danny, it would only be good for everyone. Bakugou was standing against the wall, yelling things. Maybe encouragement. Probably threats. She turned her eyes back to Danny, who was looking at her with those puppy-eyes and worried look. "I'm **fine** , sheesh," she said as she rolled her eyes and looked back outside.

"You seem mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you!" she burst and was quick to blush and cross her arms again, avoiding his stare. Huffing, she turned her head back again. "You seemed very comfortable with her handling you like that."

Danny blinked before breaking into a small smile. "You're _jealous_."

"Maybe."

"So you're mad at _Hatsume_."

" _ **Maybe**_."

"Sam," Danny said, "she's just doing her job. And she's bad with social cues like Tucker said. I gotta say I'm not enjoying it either." At seeing Sam sigh, he continued, "Sam, would I ever betray you? Or Tucker?"

Sam sighed before looking away. "No..."

"Then what are you worried about?" he asked as he stepped closer, softly placing his hand on her shoulder. Danny smiled as she turned to look him in the eye. "I won't leave you and Tucker. You're my best friends, Sam. Do you really think Hatsume will change that?"

"It's not the _best_ friend part I'm worried about."

"I'm too much of a coward to cheat on you."

"True."

"And even if I had the guts to go against you," he continued, "I wouldn't."

"Hey **_Lovebirds_**!" Tucker shouted as he slammed the door open, and the two didn't even bother to take a step away from each other, and instead nearly jumped into a combined battle stance. "Number one, Hatsume and I are done geeking over electricity, so it's safe to come back in, and number two, don't think I didn't see that!" He was quick to flee from their fields of vision and darted back into the workshop, where Hatsume was yelling at them to either get a room already or stop and get back in there to see what she had thought of.

"Let's go," Danny more asked than said, and waited for Sam to smile at him before stepping back into the workshop, and he was right behind her the moment Hatsume jumped up with an excited smile on her face.

"You won't believe what I have in mind for you!"

"Eh, me neither?" Sam intelligently replied as she was dragged across the room to a workbench out of earshot from the boys.

Tucker moved to stand beside Danny, and they both looked as Hatsume started laying out her plans to Sam. He contemplated his words for a few seconds before settling on, "Sam being paranoid over you two again?"

Danny sighed. "I don't know how to make it clear to her I won't abandon her, no matter what. Telling her directly helps, but after a while, she's back to doubting it again. I don't know what to do about it..."

" _Dude_ ," Tucker deadpanned, "you're so smitten even _Bakugou_ can tell." He put his hand on his friend's shoulder and smiled at the two girls fawning over Sam's new outfit. "You're gonna be just fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hatsume is best girl don't even get me started


	39. Training

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone! I'm currently working on the final sprint of the school year with all the deadlines and last things, so I won't be updating for a while. I *am* finishing this story and my current goal before October.  
> I will be active on discord, so join me, my friends, and other fans on my server!   
> discord.gg/dRhaGHg  
> enjoy the chapter!

That Monday afternoon proved to be one of the most draining ones yet. Aizawa had little mercy for the class and even littler for Danny. The teen was sure the man was trying to get him to either exert himself so he could scold him or ' _show his true potential'_ , as he had oh so gently addressed last Friday. Tucker had said he was just being his usual self, and Sam had assured him that wasn't the case, and that he must've been imagining it because of the lack of sleep. Danny assumed Nezu also hadn't talked to him yet.

Danny was pretty sure his body was used to the little amount of rest he got, but the mental draining? It was exhausting. With their mission, the new world, the stress of school (even though he couldn't care less about that, but Sam (and Tucker, surprisingly) were pretty insistent on doing homework), and his extra spent energy (no pun intended) on Midoriya and his training on mornings proved to be too much for him, after all.

He couldn't even be bothered --or afford to-- feel stressed for the 'conversation' Nezu had set up for him and All Might later that day.

So he merely trudged off to some separate room on the other side of the building after class and plopped on the chair on the other side of the coffee table, where All Might was sitting, in all his Hero-esque glory. "Door's closed, you know," he sighed, rubbing at his eyes.

"I wish to apologize," he said as he went back to regular ol' Toshinori Yagi, not responding to Danny's remark verbally. Danny merely hummed, giving him a tired look. "About the 'thing'," he added hopefully. "I did not mean to pry, and I apologize for asking."

"It's fine," Danny yawned back. "Someone was bound to ask. It had to happen sometime. Anyway, asking is better than finding out and being salty about it." He swiftly clasped his hands together and pointed at the door. "Can I go, now? I kind of have homework from Aizawa and he's not going to be happy if I don't have it tomorrow." And Sam and Tucker decided it would be a great idea to do a combined training tonight. _And_ they needed to talk strategy for next week. **_And_** it was his turn to cook after having convinced Sam she didn't need to do all of it and he knew how to operate a stove.

"You look like you need your sleep, young man," he said, reverting to All Might with a grin. He gestured to the door after standing and slightly frowned as the teen swayed on his feet, resisting the urge to reach out and steady him. "Sam also mentioned something," he quickly added before Danny could leave the room.

"Was it the 'you're like his mentor'-talk or the 'I'll mess you up if you mess up'-talk?"

All Might laughed. "Both."

***_*_*_*_***

To say Present Mic was excited was an understatement, and Danny was regretting everything he'd done in his life that had made it lead up to this point. The man had been very loud in the way, and wouldn't stop yelling he was excited. "How did you even _find_ someone with a pocket-dimension-Quirk, yo? This is **_amazing_**!"

"It is also sound-proof and very echoey, so please keep the shouting to a minimum, Present Mic, sir," Danny half-pleaded-half-demanded, avoiding the actual question as he did. "It's been a long day, you see. Mr. Aizawa..."

"Shota's ruthless at times," Mic interrupted with a wave of his hand, "but he means well. And, Listener, if you say you'd rather do this another time—"

"Right now will be fine," Danny answered with a tired smile. "To just get it over with."

Mic gestured for him to start. "Whatever you say, Maestro! Any questions before we begin?"

"I was wondering how you regulate your volume," Danny said as he played with his fingers, though he did keep his eyes on Present Mic. "I can tell people all kinds of things to keep them from using too much _energy_ , but I can't help myself with that. Not the mental part, anyway."

Mic nodded, one hand on his chin in thought. "Have you talked to someone from the Support Department?"

Danny blinked. "Support? Yes, but why?"

Mic tapped at the speaker around his neck. "Your friend was smart enough to figure out to target _this_. Directional speakers! It helps me regulate where my voice goes." He grinned. "Maybe someone can figure out how to make something to regulate your volume, yo!"

Danny blinked at the thing. "So that's what it does. Cool." 

"I'm sure Power Loader has a recruit learning under him," Mic added, hand to his chin in thought. "Heard she's pretty inventive. She might be able to do something!"

"Hatsume? Yeah, we talked to her," Danny shrugged off, staring off into space. "She and Tucker get on like a house on fire. They're both into machines and tech and stuff. Sam is being a bit skeptical. I think she's alright. Just a bit too loud at times. She's working on our costumes right now."

"Making friends outside of class already!" Mic half coo-ed and half yelled. "That's great! _But_!" He stuck a finger up before pointing at Danny. "First I want to see you without volume regulation. To see what we're working with."

"Yeah okay, seems fair," Danny muttered under his breath. "I have to warn you though, it's pretty loud and not good for your head."

"And you assume I don't know what that feels like?" Mic grinned at him. "Trust me, Listener, some villains know how to turn my Quirk against me. It's not fun to stand in their shoes, as I've learned the hard way!"

Danny rubbed at his temples as the pounding in his head got louder. "Wish I couldn't say the same, but unfortunately, that would be lying."

As Danny turned and readied himself, Mic blinked and had to take a mental step back. 

This kid had faced villains? Fighting them? Mic supposed Danny hadn't meant to let that slip, but he didn't seem to be realizing what he'd just done. Mic knew that half the things they knew about the three were carefully constructed lies or at least half-truths. He trusted the kids, of course, but... He couldn't shake feeling there was more to the stories they told. Things they've seen, villains they've faced...

"Ready, Present Mic?" 

And yet there he was. A teen, looking at him with those big eyes as if _he_ held the secrets to his life's problems. 

Mic rubbed his hands together before pointing at him and dramatically shouting, "Go for it, Listener!" Maybe one day, the three of them would tell them who they _really_ were, but for now, trusting them to finish whatever mission they had was enough.

Danny took a few deep breaths pulled Mic back to present and reality, and when the teen held his breath for a second, he had to admit he was kind of anxious. If even Danny had said it was destructive and powerful, it _had_ to be.

Mic had expected it to be loud, maybe high-pitched a bit wobbly, but what he got was a piercing, echoing, resonating and steady flow of sound. And it was **_loud_**. He put his hands over his ears despite standing behind the source and stared at the flow of green swirls moving away from them at a fast pace. 

It took maybe twenty seconds before Danny stopped, sinking to his knees, palms on the floor and eyes on his hands. His breathing was ragged, and he looked like he was going to be sick. 

" _Damn,_ " he heard Mic breathe out behind him, and he laughed.

"Yeah. That's also what the others said the first time they saw it," Danny croaked out before sitting down, hands behind him for support. "Any tips on how to improve that?" 

Mic laughed, once, short and sarcastic. "You're kidding me, right?" He blinked at Danny. "Okay, you're not. Fine. Kid, I'm useless to you. There's nothing I can help you with!"

Danny frowned. "What? Why?"

"You can already do _way_ more than I could ever hope to."


	40. Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy summer break!

There was just something about finally coming home to a warm house, dropping a backpack on the floor before pulling off both coat and shoes and slipping into a soft hoodie that made Danny sigh in content. He moved into the living room. Tucker was playing with some holographic technology as he sat completely fumbled up in the chair with his feet tucked between himself and the side of the chair, staring at the projection with wide and seemingly knowing eyes. Sam was on the couch, a book in one hand, and the other moving as if to make new plants. Danny opted for the couch and flopped down beside Sam, who closed her book. 

"Rough training?" Danny just let out a little whine as a reaction and let Sam guide his head over to her lap. He looked up at her with a tired and grateful smile. Her hand moved to his hair as she put her book away and sighed as well. "I can imagine. You can tell us tomorrow. Did you eat yet?"

"I was supposed to make dinner..." he pouted up at her. "So no."

"I got ya covered, man," Tucker said as he vaulted over the side of the chair and shuffled into the kitchen. "You want warm or cold noodles?"

"Warm, please," Sam answered for Danny, who was nearly asleep on her lap. "Throw some extra chicken in there." Smiling back at the thumbs-up she received as an answer, she looked back down at Danny, who was tiredly blinking at her. "I heard our new suits are going to be finished tomorrow, which means we'll get one more training on Thursday before Friday. To warm the new stuff up, and all that jazz."

"Nezu said we were gonna do some special stuff," Danny said as he sat up, smiling as he breathed in the scent of the soup handed to him by Tucker. "I heard Midnight was gonna be there, and Cementoss."

"Why?" Tucker asked as he plopped back down in his chair.

"That wasn't in the original planning, was it?" Sam narrowed her eyes at Danny as he slurped at his bowl. "Did they change things without telling us? I thought all changes would have to go by us before they did it."

"Or _Clockwork_ gave the a-okay to Nezu," Tucker pointed out. "I mean, Nezu has a pager, and you know Clockwork. He's keeping us out of the loop again. I'm kinda starting to hate it when he does that, by the way. _But,_ maybe, that's 'for all of our sakes,' bla, bla, bla."

"We'll see what happens Thursday when it's Thursday," Danny sighed. "Right now, I just want a shower and my bed."

***_*_*_*_***

Tucker had to drag Danny out of his bed the next morning. Danny had clung to his pillow as if his life depended on it, his comforter tangled around his legs, and was behaving like a toddler having a temper tantrum, which Tucker had used his expansive arsenal of words to get him to eat breakfast and just _get **going** already_. 

Sam had merely raised an eyebrow as Tucker threw a tired look at her, Danny right behind him complaining about how he needed more sleep and hadn't even had time for homework and Aizawa was going to kill him which meant detention and Danny was _not_ having **that** , so staying home would be bet--

Sam had hit him with a spoon.

He had shut up.

A small thirty minutes later, the three were back in the hallways of UA, Sam and Tucker bouncing forward with excited smiles, and Danny trudging after them, nearly falling asleep as he went. 

Hatsume was waiting in the halls, looking at her phone with a big smile. She heard Tucker's excited 'good morning' and pocketed it, clapping her hands together. "There you three are! I've been waiting for hours!"

"But it's only half-past seven," Danny whined.

"Exactly!" Hatsume exclaimed. "The evening yesterday got kind of turned into a very long session since some of the babies weren't cooperating the way I wanted to and basically blew up all over the place, but I can fix it before Friday after I crash this afternoon. Coffee is such a wondrous thing isn't it!?" She ignored Sam's disgusted look at the mention of coffee and turned to the lab. "Anyway, come look at your new stuff!"

The workshop smelled of disinfectant, smoke, oils, and coffee attacked their senses as they entered, and Tucker inhaled the smells with a content sigh. "I want one."

"Don't we all?" Hatsume opened their surprisingly clean cases, and beamed back at them. "So, Tucker, since you didn't want anything changed, I completely ignored that and upgraded your glasses."

"You don't even have my glasses!" Tucker said, confused, as she handed him a pair with a shrug. He took off his old set and straightened the new one on his nose. He grinned in victory as a fully-functional HUD appeared in front of him. "Hatsume, have I told you how much I love your mind?"

"You can say it again," she grinned back. "Now-- Since I also had to do a whole new suit and half of another one, I only had time to program the basics. You can add whatever you want if you have a laptop or whatever, which I'm sure you can also borrow from the school if you ask nicely, but if you as much as touch my programs and operating systems, I _will_ find you."

"Aye aye, captain," Tucker said, awestruck by what he was seeing.

"Your new marble-things are in the case if you want to look at them later." She turned to Sam, who couldn't stop grinning at her new suit. "Like what you're seeing?"

"Heck yeah. What'd you do?"

"Padding, more comfortable and stretchier fabric, metal details, more colors, more pockets, a bigger space to move, _and_ a whole and renewed design overall." She flipped her hair and sipped at her mug. "Thank me now."

"I owe you one, Hatsume," Sam grinned at her. "I can't wait to use it." 

"And I can't wait for you to do just that," she grinned right back. "Now for the problem child..." Sticking out her tongue at Danny at seeing his offended face, she waved him over to his case. "Now: I had to figure out how to make gloves that both protect your hands from your own attacks, as well as give you more control over your output. Unfortunately, I underestimated just how much I needed to use dampeners, so they kind of exploded."

" _Exploded_?"

"Eh, happens all the time!" she dismissed quickly. "The thing is, the explosion was kind of big and stuff, so I have to basically rebuild the whole thing. And then do it _again_ , while _also_ figuring out how to make them strong enough to be able to become immune to your own energy, _and_ control your output. And this time, while _not_ letting them explode."

"Sounds like a lot of work," Danny grimaced. "You don't _have_ to--"

"Too late!" She exclaimed, shutting the case and hopping over to another workbench with a computer. "I got started on the new blueprints as soon as the old ones went out of commission, so I already have an idea. It's a new project now, and I will not abandon my baby." She turned around, one hand on her hip and the other pointing at Danny. "I _will_ finish this."

"Don't let us stop you," both Sam and Tucker said.

"Just...make sure to be safe, and maybe eat something," Danny added. "Maybe shower. And take a nap."

"Now who has time for _that_ kind of stuff!?"


	41. Fight! (1)

Midnight and Cementoss didn't show up for training like Danny had said they would. Instead of coming along to the training fields with the whole class, they pulled Tucker and Sam aside and into another building, with the excuse of it being a lesson for 'a special project slash training exercise'. Danny was kind of nervous about being split up, but with Bakugou yelling at him to just roll with it and don't 'be a wuss about it' which was 'worry' in his vocabulary, and Midoriya softly pulling at his sleeve, he joined the others in the changing rooms.

His case felt unusually light, with all of the extra equipment still in Hatsume's care at Power Loader's lab. The only thing he had got to keep was the suit. The gloves, the belt, his shoes, all kept at Hatsume's for reference. 

He sighed as he put the case down and opened it. There were some sturdy-looking boots instead of his usual ones, the empty slots in the felt left by the gloves and equipment belt making their absences even more prominent and _real_ , now. 

"Danny, where'd all your things go, man?" Kirishima asked as he walked past towards his stuff. "You're usually all geared up with all those fancy-looking things!"

"Did you lose your equipment!?" Iida chopped at him. "That would be very irresponsible and worrying, Fenton!"

"Iida, chill," Sero sighed from where he was putting on his helmet. "Maybe he broke them during training and they're at repairs?" He shot a thumbs-up to Danny, who was glad for the save. 

Danny wished he knew.

"They're at the labs, don't worry, Iida," he answered instead. 

Sero walked out of the changing room, followed by Kaminari who was yelling about how excited he was for training. Kirishima wasn't too far behind and was already telling Mina, who had joined the group outside, how he'd been training extra hard lately. She sounded proud and Danny heard her gave him a high-five to show her excitement.

Iida turned from the doorway to look at Danny, who wanted to be anywhere but where he was right then. "I apologize for jumping to conclusions!" Iida exclaimed as he bowed and immediately stood back up straight again. "Please, forgive me, and hurry, because training will start soon." With that, he also left the room.

Danny sighed in relief of being left alone for a few moments and finally having time to pull on his outfit. With training starting in a few minutes, he wasn't surprised when Midoriya suddenly emerged from _somewhere_ , also not having finished changing yet. "If Aizawa's gonna pull another stunt, I swear..." Danny grumbled as he tied the laces of his boots. 

"I'm sure he means well," Midoriya piped up as they walked out of the changing rooms and inside the exercise hall. "And even if he is a little harsh, it's good training nonetheless. We learn how to handle bossy superiors, which we will encounter much more often later in our hero careers, don't you think? I find it quite exciting!"

Midoriya suddenly reminded Danny of Dani's childlike positivity and excitement, and he had to shake the image out of his head physically to be mentally present as well. He'd been way too reminiscent lately.

"Midoriya and Fenton, you're up first," Aizawa said just as they joined the rest of the class in half a circle around him. "If you're late one more time you're getting extra work."

 _'Don't we already?'_ Danny thought with a sigh. 

"If you could just move with me to the other building, that'd be nice. Someone else will take over here." Aizawa shuffled away from the now yelling teens, demanding an explanation, but as soon as All Might entered the room, they all started yelling about that instead. Aizawa huffed at the excitement and trotted off. Midoriya shot Danny a panicking look, and Danny shrugged before following after Aizawa.

"Mr. Aizawa?" Midoriya asked, in that extremely innocent and curious voice of his as he stumbled behind them, "Why are we taken apart from the rest of the class? Are we being graded? Tested? Or--"

"This is just like any other sparring match, Mirdoriya. You aren't being graded," the man sighed as they walked into the second building. The lights flickered on as Aizawa turned and let his gaze fall on the two teens. "Nezu asked me to observe you two fight in particular, so I decided to take you apart from the class so I could focus on you two instead of the rest of the class's screaming at me."

Danny couldn't help but snort at that. Aizawa didn't _seem_ like a very funny person, Danny had thought. He was more the sarcastic type to mope around and complain about everything. But Danny had enough experience with Sam's moping and all of their sarcasm. It was familiar, instead of the constant strictness of Iida, or Bakugou's violent screaming.

God, he sounded like Jazz.

Sam seemed to appreciate Aizawa's sense of humor as well. She'd been carefully trash-talking All Might before class once before the man had apologized, and Aizawa hadn't tried to stop her in the slightest. Apparently he had some sort of problem with the number one Hero but didn't say anything about it. Sam had laughed that Aizawa could just listen instead of saying it himself, and silently agree.

It was a bit of a stretch, but still. 

Even though Danny sometimes agreed with Sam, and sometimes Tucker's additions, he found it a bit...wrong, somehow. They didn't know _everything_ about the guy, or what he'd gone through, so there was a bit of guilt gnawing at him whenever they said something. It was probably just him projecting himself onto others again, but that didn't help with the feeling he should stop them after a bit. 

He _had_ said sorry about the whole ' _thing_ ' incident, so Danny liked to think they were back on neutral ground. Sam was still a bit fed up with All Might for even starting that conversation, so she promised to keep her moping to a minimum.

"Pick wherever you wanna stand and start," Aizawa said as he moved towards the side, near the wall.

Aizawa's sighed instruction broke through his inner monologuing, and Danny blinked.

"But Mr. Aizawa, you haven't told us the rules?" Midoriya looked at Danny as if he had heard the instructions and knew something, but he just shrugged.

"If you'd been in class on time, you would've known."

"So..we do what know? Do we make up our own?" Midoriya frowned, Aizawa's signal to start flying straight over him.

"Oh hell yes!" Danny turned to Midoriya with a grin. "No pulling punches today, Midoriya."

"I wasn't going to," he swiftly replied, dropping into a defensive stance.

Midoriya closed his eyes for a second and thought back to last week. The things Danny'd said, what Bakugou had yelled at him. How he'd been training and finally got moving in the direction that was his eventual goal.

The sensation of the energy slowly spreading over his body was still a new feeling to him, but he started to get the hang of it after a few days of training on how to control it. Danny had helped immensely with the control over it, and he wasn't sure yet on how he would repay him.

_'Just show me what you've learned.'_

Danny's words echoed in his ears as he opened his eyes and zeroed in on his opponent for the match. Aizawa seemed to be getting impatient with the lack of attacks being thrown back and forth but did nothing more than roll his eyes and wave his hand to get it started. Danny raised a hand at Midoriya and made a 'come at me' motion with his hand.

The lightning erupted from within and he charged forward.


	42. Fight! (2)

It wasn't long before Sam figured out that there was more to Midnight than just the nearly _too_ skin-tight suit and sadistic tendencies she tended to show. She knew how to help Sam with the distribution of the pollen to create a veil or even a whole cloud of polled to create a mine-field in which her opponent couldn't even see where they were standing. Sam appreciated the effort Midnight put into teaching her everything she knew in as little time as possible while still keeping a pace Sam could keep up with.

Tucker was having a field-day with Cementoss giving him pointers and tips on how to increase range and gain more control over his marbles. Within a small 15 minutes, he was making tornadoes out of the metal orbs, making stairs for himself, and trying to distract Sam with making figures right in her field of vision. He grinned as she made a small Venus Flytrap snap at his feet from below.

"I believe a match would be in order since you seem so excited to fight each other," Midnight laughed as they started exchanging small attacks with each other, each one growing a little more powerful.

Within a few minutes, they were standing face-to-face over the length of the field, Midnight on the side and Cementoss have gone to teach another class. "Sparring time!" Midnight exclaimed.

"Last time we tried to do this was when Danny was being cocky and we didn't even get the chance to spar," Tucker laughed as Sam cracked her knuckles. "Did he teach you anything or was he just being a pain in the a-"

"He actually helped me with some things, thank you very much," she swiftly interrupted him with a smirk.

Tucker wiggled his eyebrows. "But _what_ things?"

"Are you two ready?!" Midnight exclaimed excitedly as she held up one arm as if she were holding a flag. "Usual rules, etcetera, _begin_!"

Tucker shot forward, running over a bridge of marbles as Sam made vines erupt from the ground and start shooting towards him. Tucker deflected the attacks by cutting the vines, and skidded to a halt at the end of the bridge, looming over Sam. Using both hands, he made the marbles he had left shoot towards her.

Sam used a lily pad to re-route the attack to the side, making Midnight yelp and duck to avoid getting hit. "Sorry!" she yelled, before making a vine that lifted her to be on the same height as Tucker stood, hands on his knees and marbles shaking out of exhaustion. "What did we say about scaling attacks, Tucker?"

"Don't start with the biggest one ya got and save some energy for later," he panted. "And I _listened_ ," he grinned. The bridge disappeared beneath his feet, and he fell before grabbing a hold of Sam's vine. He blinked up at her and smirked at seeing her wide eyes. Holding out one arm, the marbles came back from where they were on the floor and started moving towards the vine, just above where Tucker was hanging.

Sam was quick enough to see what he was planning and made a second lily pad, on which she jumped just as the vine came crashing down on the field. Sam stood up on her makeshift plateau and shot a challenging look at Tucker as he climbed upon the top of her old vine.

"Quick thinking," he complimented her, marbles hanging behind him menacingly.

"Good attack," she replied, pollen forming around the base of her lily pad.

Midnight let out a sigh.

Kids.

***_*_*_*_***

Midoriya had changed tactics since the start of the match. Instead of going for a frontal attack, he had started sprinting around the field, hoping to catch Danny off-guard. Unfortunately for Midoriya, Danny's reflexes and predictions were on point, and Midoriya couldn't get a single hit in.

Danny, however, was not even trying to get a hit in. He just sidestepped Midoriya's charges at him and was already moving to dodge the next one. The edges of the field seemed to be closing in on him, and he moved towards the corner as he kept dodging. At seeing Midoriya charge at him with full, speed, he ducked.

Midoriya's feet had already left the ground, and there was little he could do to stop his trajectory out of the field. Rolling when he hit the floor, he looked at Aizawa with a defeated face as he got back up again. "I went out of bounds, didn't I?" he asked, already accepting defeat.

"No."

Danny's head shot from Midoriya to Aizawa. "We can use the whole room?"

"Yes."

Danny saw Midoriya formulating a whole new tactic in his head within a few seconds, and he had to blink a few times to fully grasp the situation. Midoriya hadn't gone out of bounds? They could use the entire room? Not just the field? He _hadn't_ won yet?

"Wait, **_what_**?"

Midoriya had already shot up from where he stood, hopping from the floor to the ceiling to the walls, on the floor, and back to the wall again. ' _One of the Pros uses this technique non-stop,'_ he thought as he kept bouncing, _'moving so fast his opponent couldn't see him coming anymore.'_ He held onto the wall closest to the field and concentrated as he looked at his target, breathed out, and pushed off the wall. _'Gran Torino, don't fail me now.'_

Midoriya's research into Gran Torino's style proved to be useful as Danny had to whirl around at not spotting Midoriya in his field of vision anymore, and came face to face with said teen shooting towards him. Resisting the urge to turn intangible, he held up his hands in a reflex and closed his eyes, nearly praying his powers wouldn't bail out on him. Feeling the surge of energy move from inside him to around him, he grunted and moved his arms to besides him.

Midoriya was quick enough to move his legs forward and came to a crouch on the side of the dome Danny had formed around him. "That was so quick!" he exclaimed.

"Thank you."

The dome grew in size, and _quick_. Midoriya was catapulted off and skidded to a halt a good ten meters away. His head snapped up as he stood up, watching how Danny created small shields out of the dome that circled him, a ball of Energy growing in his palm. Midoriya swallowed. He knew exactly just how powerful that small thing could be, and there was no way he could determine just how powerful this particular one was until it would hit its target and explode.

Which was probably gonna be him.

He started hopping around again, hoping to confuse Danny with his movements, but Danny didn't move from his spot and didn't even try to follow Midoriya with his eyes. Could he track where he was? As if Danny had tagged him? Could he use his own emitted Energy as a tracker, feeling where it was? The possibilities were endless--

Danny made a small shield shoot from their formation around him and head-butted Midoriya onto the ground. He winced as the teen made impact with the floor, but made no move to help him up. The small shield retracted, and Danny cocked his head as Midoriya coughed and wobbly stood back up again. "You good?" he asked, feeling a bit guilty.

"Fine!" Midoriya replied, a determined smile on his face. "That was so cool," he breathed to himself. Manipulating one's own emitted powers so that it made a platform instead of a powerful attack was something he had never really considered, mostly since the experience he had with emitters were from Bakugou, and _he_ couldn't exactly _do_ that.

He could only imagine his face if he were seeing this right now.

"Go, Danny!" Midoriya's gaze found Tucker, who came skipping in with Sam trailing behind him. She seemed agitated for some reason, and when she saw Danny, she nearly exploded on the spot. The un-yelled ' _ **what**_ ' hung heavily in the air, and Danny faltered. Midoriya's heart sped up.

This was _his_ _chance_.

He swiftly crouched and shot forward for a frontal attack again, and with Danny distracted by his friends entering the room, he was too late to see Midoriya charge. Midoriya pulled a fist back and went for it with all his might.

His fist connected with Danny.

Midoriya kept moving, after Danny, who slammed with the wall with his back. Midoriya tripped over his feet and fell forward, arms stretched out before him. He blinked at the new perspective and found Danny looking down on him. "You always that clumsy?" Danny laughed.

"Usually, yes," Midoriya replied with a smile, grunting as he sat back up. Aizawa had run over, Sam and Tucker shooting out past him.

"That was one hell of a hit," Tucker noted as he crossed his arms and looked down at the two on the floor. "And Midoriya didn't even need to get hit to go down."

"Bad, Tucker," Sam said without looking at him. Her hands were itching to take Danny's right one, and he gave it to her with a small apologetic smile. "I thought I told you to not make the freaking fireballs with your gloves still at Hatsume," she gritted out. " _Stupid_."

"He needs it on loop in his head to remember not to," Tucker laughed, dancing away from Sam's smacking hand.

"Are you two alright?" Aizawa was suddenly in front of Midoriya, and he blinked back.

"I-I'm alright!" Midoriya hurriedly replied at seeing his teacher's look. "I just...tripped over my own feet. That's all."

" _He_ burned his hand and got slammed into a wall," Sam replied before Danny could say he was fine. She shot a glare before he could deny it. "Recovery Girl is going to have yet another field day because of you."

" _He_ hit _me_!"

"Don't get distracted, then," Aizawa piped in with a glint in his eyes. He then sighed and stood up. "We should get both of you to Recovery Girl. And no more tripping, Midoriya."

Midoriya laughed. "I'll try."


	43. Preperations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!  
> I haven't updated since like July and I'm truly so sorry. School started again, there were a lot, but like a LOT of deadlines. My MacBook also died and I only just got it back. But today I return with a glorious update! The trio being Them, Bakguou having a near existential crisis, non-spiced edition, and Hatsume being an absolute glorious queen.  
> Enjoy! (and be on the lookout for links in future notes because there's gonna be A R T)

Recovery Girl smacked Danny on his head a good couple of times, but otherwise treated him and sent him off with some bandages and a stern warning to not be stupid again. In general. Sam seconded the motion with great conviction and managed to get Tucker to help her drag Danny back to their apartment instead of going off to talk to Hatsume. "We'll do that tomorrow morning before we leave," Sam had said, and Danny had had no choice but to let his friends prod at him to keep walking.

"I can't believe you did that," Sam said as they walked up the stairs. "The day before the mission as well. Any chance you can get this to heal before tomorrow?"

Tucker patted Sam's shoulder as she pushed open the door to the gallery. The setting sun reflected in the glass and he squinted as he blindly followed her. "We'll be fine, Sam. I'm sure of it."

"Somehow that doesn't help if you say it."

Tucker stuck out his tongue and walked backward in front of Danny and Sam along the gallery. "If a mere statement won't cut it, a speech might be sufficient!"

"Tucker stop, you sound like Iida," Danny laughed.

"Ah! I believe we have a skeptic in our midst! Fear not, student, for I shall tell you just what our plan is! I, Tenya Iida, have a perfect solution for our situation! For every situation! You might not like it, but you must always do your best and try to succeed in your mission! And if you fail, you must take the opportunity and learn from your mistakes, so you can prevent them from happening again! Don't fear failure, for a second chance is not far away!"

He turned to see both Danny and Sam had stopped walking and were now staring at him. "What? Is there something on my face?"

Sam grinned and shrugged as she brushed past him. "Yeah. Your wise words just surprised us. Didn't know you had it in you."

"Oh, har-dy-har, Manson. I have plenty of good ideas. Like going intangible when there's--"

Danny groaned, "Why will you guys not let that die? We still doing that joke?"

"We can roast _you_ for being dumb, _or_ we can roast _Sam_ for losing to me in that match," Tucker grinned. "Your pick, Danny."

"So _that's_ why you were looking ready to explode why you came in, huh?" Danny poked at Sam's side. "You lost."

"Not that I need defending, _but,_ in my own defense, I _would_ like to mention Tucker both played dirty and did some very stupid things himself, like falling off his own plateau and tripping over his own feet. Also--"

"Says the person who got smacked from behind."

"Well _you_ forgot about my flytraps and were about to walk into one when--"

"Can we get back to roasting Danny now?"

***_*_*_*_***

Bakugou wasn't jealous.

He was _not_.  
  
Of Sero and Kaminari hanging out with new people, of Mina and Kirishima making new friends. Of Jirou and Tokoyami who got along like a house on fire with Sam. Of the girl from the support department barging into the cafeteria and yelling some obscure reference at Tucker. Of Deku improving so much it scared him.

Of Danny.

Danny was just...an enigma. Over the course of the time he'd been here, he'd _improved_. And that was saying something, being as skilled as he was already. Danny had shown great control over his Quirk, and Bakugou was _terrified_.

_"And it's not like, you're worth any less or anything like that, and whoever says otherwise can meet my fists."_

Because Danny absolutely could.

The words kept on echoing in his head at night, when he was walking alone, when he was listening to music in his bed, desperately trying to sleep. When he looked at Deku. Danny had become somewhat of a spirit in his mind, always keeping watch over Bakugou and his actions. Bakugou could almost just feel the eyes on his back whenever he walked through the classroom, towards his seat, avoiding Deku's gaze.

_'I dare you to say something.'_

Hell no.

But the feeling never went away.

***_*_*_*_***

The morning of the USJ exercise, Danny, Sam, and Tucker went to Hatsume at the crack of dawn when the school opened for the students. Not that Hatsume had left, but they'd accepted this as a fact and moved on. Danny was rubbing the bandage on his right hand from the exercise the day before behind his back, aware of the fact Sam most definitely had caught on. She didn't reprimand him on it though, which he was grateful for.

Tucker bounced on the balls of his feet as a small expensive-looking jewelry bag was handed to him, and he _squealed_ when he saw the marked marbles. Danny couldn't catch the icons on the surfaces but figured he'd have to wait and see. 

Sam and Hatsume talked briefly about a certain upgrade to Sam's suit Danny couldn't entirely follow. Tucker was testing out some HUD functions right next to him, and the holographic map of the USJ went right through him as it was projected in thin air. Stepping back, he looked at the schematics with Tucker. "So: the power is going to go haywire, the door is going to be blocked, and the villains are going to emerge in the middle," Danny repeated for what had to be the fifteenth time that week. "You still know your routes?"

"Obviously," Tucker said as he waved a hand. "But should I forget, they're in my glasses. Just...to be sure."

"Danny you better get your boney butt over here or I'm gonna drag you by your hair!"

"Yes ma'am," Danny snorted as he walked over to Hatsume, giving Sam a high five on the way. 

Hatsume had pulled out the missing parts of his outfit from the case and grinned like a maniac as he came to a halt in front of the table. "Behold--" she jazz-handed towards the table-- "your new and improved suit. First up!" She gestured over the boots. "Fitted boots to match your color scheme better because that gray was disgusting, now also with soles that will let your Quirk through so you can drop-kick the absolute _shit_ out of someone!"

"A childhood dream," Danny grinned.

"Second!" Hatsume put one of the gloves on Danny, and let him look at it for three seconds. "The material is to keep your Quirk more contained to the _outside_ of your skin. It is also magnetically charged to that when you form a loose first it stays in place, and when your close your hand, your Ecto Ball will start vibrating and gain power."

Danny blinked at Hatsume, who just shrugged as she took the glove back. "Based on your files. I had Power Loader give me access to your file once I bribed him."

"Bribed him with _what_?" 

"Details, details!" Hatsume just answered, snapping the case closed and handing it to him. "The gloves activate automatically once you use your Quirk, so don't bother looking for buttons. There are also some surprises in the band, but I'll let you figure those out once the time is right. Now--"

She bent and picked a small box from under the table. "Mei Hatsume, for your volume controlling and hearing-saving technology. They're both comms and noise suppressors. For your screaming special, whatever it's called. There are two other sets for your friends, but no more, so don't lose 'em, pretty boy."

"I wouldn't dare, Hatsume. Thank you so much."

"Pleasure is all mine, Danny! Sam, Tucker, it was lovely to have you. But I must continue the work on my babies, and you're bound to get in the way. Also: your bus is leaving in 15, bye!"

Tucker checked the time and his eyes grew wide as he looked at Sam, Danny trailing behind with his case. 

"We gotta run."


	44. The Finale (1)

Danny laughed as Sam exclaimed victoriously when she joined him and the rest of the class outside of the bus. Tucker pouted but slung his arms around her while he laughed. "Yeah yeah, but I got faster." Sam exclaimed in protest and managed to wriggle her way out of his arms, trying to look intimidating as she pointed at him.

Iida started chopping at them to hurry up from his position at the door of the bus and Danny apologetically smiled as he passed him, Tucker and Sam squabbling as they followed.

The bus was already quite full, the only spots left being in the back. Tucker and Sam overtook Danny and sat on the back row, their conversation having gone back to their usual discussion about veganism and meat. Danny let them be and took the empty spot next to Todoroki. They hadn't really talked much since that day at the gates with Bakugou, but Danny was going to change that.

Jirou was in front of him, one of her earphone jacks plugged into her phone, and Bakugou was next to her at the window, looking bored out of his mind. Danny had a feeling this wasn't the case.

The bus started driving, and conversations started up again as they merged onto the road towards the USJ. Danny felt his nerves were starting to get to him as they drove, and took a deep breath as he toyed with the clasps on his gloves. 

"Why are you so nervous?"

The comment made Danny jump, and he turned to Todoroki, who still had his head laying on the headrest and his eyes closed. "Eeehh, I just...don't want to fail?" he shrugged. It sounded like a stupid excuse, but it was also the truth. They couldn't fail. Not after all the work they put in.

"Danny," Todoroki was looking at him now, gaze as intense as ever, "you're one of the strongest people in this class, and you won't fail. And even if you did, you have enough good grades and reputation to make up for it." He closed his eyes again and put his head back on the headrest. "One bad grade won't fail you." Strange words, coming from one of the top-performing students.

But yeah. This was totally about his grade. 

"I have a question," Danny blurted out. He cringed as Todoroki opened his eyes again. He just wanted to nap. "About your big-ass ice move."

Very nice.

Todoroki legitimately _snorted_ with his whole body, cracked a smile, and held a hand in front of his mouth to cover it up, eyes blown wide. Danny blinked at the reaction and snorted as well.

"Anyway... The move you pulled during the bomb diffusing exercise. You froze like, half the room in an instant. How do you do that? Don't you like, freeze yourself? And does it cost a lot of energy? Because you didn't seem affected like, at _all._ "

"I have been training for a long time," Todoroki answered, and Danny sensed the pain behind the statement. "Stamina is a big part of the move, as is conviction and dedication. You have to put your entire body and mind behind it, or it simply will not be as strong of a move. There will be no impact, no movement--" he smirked-- "no big-ass ice move."

Danny felt a wave of joy hit him. And then Bakugou started screaming at Tsu, Kaminari trash-talked Bakugou in a not-so-subtle way, and Uraraka seemed more like a badass than she already was.

Danny liked it.

The moment they came to stop in front of the building, Danny felt his heart jump in his chest. This was it. The students chattered happily as they stepped out of the bus, and Danny felt Sam and Tucker walk up to him from behind. They sent him reassuring glances and Sam patted his shoulder as they followed behind Mina, a little jump in their step. Probably nerves, but also excitement.

They lined up in front of Aizawa, Tucker on Danny's right and Mina on his left. She seemed to sense his nervousness and whispered a quick "You'll be fine!" before Aizawa sent her a murderous glance and she shut up. Bakugou snorted from beside Mina, which earned him an elbow to his side. 

As Aizawa walked inside to collect their third instructor (All Might was too busy playing regular hero), Kirishima had to hold Bakugou back to keep him from jumping at Mina. Midoriya exclaimed in protest and was suddenly between the two, saying they should save their energy (the word was now officially on a constant loop in Danny's mind) for the exercise.

Yeah, the exercise. Totally.

Sam was quick to simply yell once to get them all to shut up, the ground rumbling under their feet. While the rest of the students dispersed as Iida yelled, Bakugou shot an uninterested look at Sam before he looked at Danny. There were probably a lot of words in that look, but Danny found himself unable to read them. 

Tucker bumped his shoulder with his own, signaling the arrival of Aizawa and Thirteen, and the nerves were clawing at his throat. The introduction speech went past his head, the whirlwind of 'what-ifs' leaving no room for information he already heard months ago. He felt like a single stone on the shore, the only thing between the land and the destructive power of the ocean. Breaking the waves came natural, but how long could he last?

"Let's go!" Uraraka yelled as she jumped and followed behind Midoriya and Iida. Danny stepped forward, moving as a unit with Sam and Tucker. Kaminari and Mina seemed to fawn over their synchronization, and Danny felt the emotion was misplaced. The three of them had worked together for _years_ now. Not being in sync meant problems.

It suddenly felt like reassurance. 

He looked to the side, Tucker grinning like a maniac, hands with marbles at the ready. He stretched his arms and looked...peaceful, somehow. Like they weren't about to fight for not only their lives, but for their newfound friends' lives. 

Peaceful was a good look on Tucker.

Danny halted. Sam, because of course she did, sensed it somehow and went to be beside him. She looped her arm through Danny's and bumped her hip against his. "Even though we had Clockwork look at the future for us and have him tell what he could," she said softly, "there's still a chance he missed something. Our influences and choices weren't accounted for. And it's nasty and scary that we're about to go into something like this at such short notice, but it's better than nothing." Sam gestured at the class standing at the top of the stairs, gawking at the facility. "We are their best hope, and they are our priority. We keep them safe before we catch the bad guys. We _protect_ them."

Sam looked determined, afraid, loving, and so much more as she looked at him. Danny pulled her into his side and put his head on hers. "We got this."

"We sure do."

The ground rumbled. The students yelled and watched how a black hole seemed to open in the middle of the square. The man with the hand in front of his face stepped out, a whole lot of villains stepping past him and filling the square. The class stilled with fear. Aizawa put on his goggles and his scarf flared up. The class connected the invasion of a while back to the villains they were seeing now. They wished All Might was there with them. Aizawa jumped down the stairs and started absolutely pummeling the front lines. Thirteen directed the students to the doors, away from the fight. 

Good. All according to plan. 

Danny stuck close to Bakugou, and Sam went running beside Kirishima. As they approached the exit, the doors locked in front of them. Midoriya, who was at the front, halted as a tiny black sphere appeared on the floor. It quickly grew to reveal the black hole creator, but this time, he had an actual shape. A tall hourglass shape formed out of the smoke and two yellow glowing eyes appeared in the mass. "I won't let you."

That was the sign.

Sam took Kirishima's arm and danced around him to push him back. Danny grabbed onto Bakugou and threw him over his shoulder. Bakugou, however, had no intention of being stopped from attacking and somehow managed to land back on his feet, torso pointed to the floor and arms now holding on to Danny's arms. Bakugou flipped himself back, throwing Danny onto the floor over his own head. 

Tucker, who was advancing on Kurogiri, heard the smack and halted, looking back to see his friend being slammed into the floor on his back, couching violently as he struggled to get back up. 

Danny just managed to get a hold of Bakugou's foot as he jumped toward Kurogiri, Kirishima yelling confusedly at Sam. She struggled to keep him back, saying she knew what she was doing. 

The world stilled.

Bakugou's confused eyes met Danny's pleading ones for a split second. 

And then he kicked Danny's hand and advanced.

"Bakugou, stop!" Danny yelled, climbing back on his feet and sprinting after Bakugou. "Don't--"

And then it went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	45. The Finale (2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 20k hits! thanks so much everyone!

It was cold.

It was very cold and very wet.

Sam broke the surface of the water with a gasp, stroking her hair out of her face and blinking to regain some sort of vision. "Dammit!" she shouted as she hit the water with a fist. It wasn't supposed to go like this! They were supposed to stay together, use the class as a cover to send some big attacks, and then trap Shigaraki. They had it all figured out to the tiniest details, but now that was useless!

Not to mention the villains that were now also hiding under the water.

"Sam!" Tsu was seated on the side of the ship and jumped in the water. "Did anyone else come here as well?" she asked as Sam took a hold of her shoulder. 

"Midoriya, he hasn't come up yet! You get him, and I'll swim to the boat!" Sam pushed Tsu in the right direction and started swimming toward the boat. The moment she reached the side, Tsu jumped out of the water, her tongue wrapped around Midoriya. A few seconds later, Sam was helped up to the side of the boat.

Midoriya seemed to be pretty out of it when Sam climbed over the railing. Tsu was looking out over the water, probably analyzing and trying to find a possible escape route. Sam let Tsu be and crouched beside Midoriya, who was sitting with his back against the wall. "Are you okay?" she asked, her hand softly landing on his shoulder.

It seemed to snap him out of his mental turmoil and his wide eyes latched onto her. "Y-yeah! Just, eh, give me a second. Please."

"I don't know if you have a second," Tsu commented in her deadpan voice. She turned to them and pointed around the boat. "They're everywhere. But they're waiting on something."

"Or someone," Sam growled.

Midoriya stood up on wobbly feet and clutched to the railing. Sam came to stand beside him. Midoriya's eyes scanned their surroundings and a small light seemed to ignite in his eyes. "They're waiting on _us_ ," he said. "They don't know our Quirks and are hesitant to attack because they don't know what to expect from us."

"Surprise attack it is," Sam said, one foot on the railing already.

"No, wait!" Midoriya yelped, and he grabbed onto her wrist. "We need to plan this!"

Sam had the urge to push him away, throw him over the side. Her friends were in danger! They hadn't planned this scenario properly enough, evidently. Sam knew exactly what to do if they hadn't been separated. She would've stuck to her part, leave the rest to the others, and had accepted it. She was _prepared_ for that situation. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. 

This wasn't how it was supposed to happen! How was she supposed to go about this? Her friends were stuck in different zones and she didn't even know for sure which ones! Kurogiri's warping had already messed up their pre-planned teams. She was supposed to be with Kirishima, explaining eve--

"Oh no."

"What? Are they attacking?"

"Danny's stuck with Bakugou."

A loud crash made the statement disappear. The ship rumbled and started creaking.

"They're trying to get us into the water!" Midoriya exclaimed, holding onto the railing with a tight grip. "Quick! We need a plan!"

Tsu simply stuck herself to the floor and quickly said, "I'm fast in the water and can use my tongue to carry one person. If we manage to trap them, we can escape."

Sam frantically looked around, now panicking. "We have no capturing tape! There's nothing to even put them and hope they'll stick!"

"Stick!"

Tsu and Sam turned to Midoriya, who had yelled the word as if it would solve everything. He looked at both of them and let out a single laugh. "We don't need anything to stick them to if we can stick them to each other!"

"How will we get them all in one place? They're all over the water."

The ship was still rumbling and sinking.

Midoriya looked at his hand, and Sam was glad she knew Midoriya well enough by now to know what he was thinking. Vaguely. 

"Arrowwood pollen is sticky."

"I can get us out."

"And I can get them all in one place."

Now Midoriya put one foot on the railing, sneaked a glance at both Tsu and Sam, and took a deep breath.

Then he was yelling.

Sam didn't manage to catch the exact words or what happened. Not that she needed to. She was flung over the side of the ship by Tsu, dropping pollen from her hands as if it was snow. The absolutely enormous splash beneath her reached so high she felt her hair get heavy with water, and then she got yanked away. 

Tsu had Midoriya in her arms, her tongue still around Sam. Just managing a look back, she saw the villains in the middle of a whirlpool, stuck together by her pollen. 

They left the screaming villains behind.

Sam felt disoriented as she was put down in the shallow water, even more so than she was after being hauled around Amity by Danny. God, Danny. She hoped he was alright. Tucker had to be somewhere with other people as well. He'd been close to Todoroki, so that'd be alright. Both her friends could both handle themselves against the villains. But against their classmates, who thought they had betrayed them? Not so much.

Tsu was just observing the situation for now, and Midoriya was too busy nursing his broken hand, wrapping it with a piece of fabric that had come out of nowhere. Sam cringed as she watched the purpling skin disappear under the black cloth.

"So, what now, plan man?"

Midoriya had been mumbling to himself for a hot second now, and his head snapped to the central plaza in the facility. There was still all sorts of shouting and various battle noises coming from there. "We have to avoid facing the villains there directly. Maybe we can get to the front door by going along the shoreline." He pointed along the side of the shipwreck zone. "Maybe take out a small number of villains as we go, lighten Ai-- _Eraserhead's_ load. They probably got Iida out by now, so help must be on the way. We just need to...survive."

Sam nodded and her gaze hardened. "Then let's go."

***_*_*_*_***

"Scatter you and kill you, huh? I hate to say this, but you just look like guys with Quirks they didn't know what to do with."

Tucker had the urge to yell either "Burn!" or "Freeze!" but managed to contain himself to just standing behind Todoroki. He had it handled, apparently. All of the villains that had appeared at the same time as they did were now standing icecubes. Tucker was kind of glad he didn't have to fight anyone right now. The adrenaline pumping through his veins was making his fine motoric skills messy and control slip.

Also, his focus was a mess.

A guy wielding a long pole charged from behind, and Todorki was just in time to push Tucker out of the way, freeze the floor, and grab ahold of the weapon. Todoroki glared at the guy for a few more seconds before breaking the pole from his grip and handing it to Tucker. "You okay?"

Todoroki was absolutely brutal. "Yeah, thanks to you," he answered, taking the pole. He turned it around in his hand and swung it around. It seemed to be magnetic. Cool. New toy.

The landslide zone seemed pretty intense, but since nothing was moving, it just seemed a bit more post-apocalyptic than like an active crisis zone. The buildings that were half covered in sand and mud looked creepy enough as it was, with burnt-out cars and uprooted trees surrounding them. Luckily, they didn't need to go inside the toppled skyscrapers.

Todoroki had walked up to a frozen villain. "Hey," he said, leaning over the villain, "at this rate, your cells will slowly die. I want to be a hero. I wish to avoid something cruel if possible." Todoroki's hand itched closer towards the head of the villain, who was now whimpering at the frost he felt on his skin. "On what basis do you think you can kill All Might?"

Yeah. Brutal.


	46. The Finale (3)

The warping sensation from Kurogiri felt more like falling than teleporting. It was too vertical, unlike the Infi-Map or the portals in Amity. Or Clockwork's time-warping, for that matter. Where those were a simple step forwards or a swift throw of your body and consciousness through dimensions, this was freefalling forever through a black hole.

Danny hit the floor with his hands first, sending a flash of pain up his arms through his wrists. He yelped as he rolled onto his back, his left shoulder pressed to a wall as he rolled to a stop. The portal closed above him, and Danny coughed once.

Immediately, he was grabbed by his collar and pulled upwards. He yelped and scrambled to gain a footing, and grabbed at the hand holding him up. Barely able to see, being just warped across a large distance and now being hauled around, Danny could just make out a screaming blob. 

Bakugou.

Shit.

Danny phased through his hand in a panic and fell back, coughing violently. Ruins zone. Great for training disasters, not so great for trying to breathe. Dust from the debris was hanging in the air, and Danny's airways and lungs weren't too happy about it. 

Above him, Bakugou was yelling at him. Probably profanities and demands for an explanation, but that could wait. Danny lifted his arm and shot a villain that was about to jump Bakugou from behind. Bakugou whirled around, connected the dots, and whirled back.

It would have been funny if they weren't about to die.

"On your right!" Danny yelled. There seemed to be a delay of half a second before Bakugou turned and fired as well. Danny slowly got back on his feet with a hand to the wall while Bakugou jumped at another villain that had come from another side. 

The room was somewhere between a decent bedroom and a classroom in size, with three openings from old doors and new damage. Danny had his back to the only complete wall, which was the outside of the building. The glass was dusty and not too solid. Probably breakable for an escape if they needed it. It was also the only source of light, casting the room in dull light.

"I'm gonna need an explanation from you real soon," Bakugou stated as he roundhouse-kicked a villain straight in their face, "or I'm gonna punch one out of you!"

"Save it for later!" Danny retorted as he blasted another guy single-handed, the glow on his hands bright from frustration. "I have an escape plan if you wanna hear it!" The energy on his hand slowly dimmed out, and Danny wondered if it would have if he wasn't wearing the gloves. 

Not a good thought. 

Bakugou's hands were almost at his throat again, the villain having been taken care of, and Danny stepped to the side with wide eyes to avoid being grabbed again. "Dude!" he exclaimed, now dodging a full-blown punch to his head. "What are you doing!?"

"I'm getting some answers from you, and I'm getting them now!"

Danny expertly twisted out of the way and blocked the jab at his ribs. "I can explain later! We gotta--" he dodged another blow-- "get to the central plaza!" Danny caught sight of a villain lurking behind the wall, waiting on the right time, and Danny just managed to hit the wall beside him with an Ecto-Blast as he ducked under a right hook from Bakugou. "There are still villains here!"

"I'm looking right at one."

It stung worse than it should have.

Bakugou thought he was a villain that had infiltrated the school. It wasn't a far fetched thought when Danny imagined it from Bakugou's perspective. Three kids from very far away suddenly appearing in one of the most prestigious hero schools, with no credit to their name, and getting into the most high-stakes class immediately. Making friends with everyone, seeming a little too invested with the teachers. Not soon after they appeared, the school was infiltrated by villains, and now, their class was under attack.

It wasn't a very good look for the three of them. Nezu and most of the teachers could vouch for them if they really got in trouble with the class or even the authorities, but if they could avoid having to expose themselves, they'd have to take some risks.

Especially now.

The thinking got Danny's brain scattered, giving Bakugou the opportunity to seize hold of Danny's collar again. "Dammit, Bakugou!" Danny yelled, prying at the gloved hand yet again. "If you don't let me go now, there's gonna be people _dying_!"

Bakugou's eyes flashed with an emotion Danny couldn't quite make out that fast, and the grip tightened. Danny scrambled for air, and it seemed to set something off in Bakugou. He let go, and Danny fell to his knees again.

A gloved finger prodded at his chest, making Danny flinch. "Why did you try, emphasis on _try_ , to hold me back, huh? Think you were gonna beat me to the punch? Didn't want me to have the fame? The glory of beating the villain!?"

"No!"

"Then why did you do it!"

"Because I didn't want you to die, dammit!"

Danny's hands had formed fists against the dusty floor, a bright green glow coming from within the gloves. It burned. A single tear fell on the glove and it fizzled out immediately. His shoulders shook with a lot of emotions at the same time, and the hand on his shoulder felt like it weighed a ton.

Danny didn't expect Bakugou to from an eloquent speech on feelings of guilt and shame. The lone gesture already felt out of character for him, but it was appreciated nonetheless. Danny sniffed and mustered up the courage to look up and meet Bakugou's eyes. 

"You wouldn't kill anyone. You're too much of a dumbass."

Danny breathed out a laugh.

"I'm serious. You just don't kill anyone and you wouldn't lie about those kinds of things. You're too... _puppy-like_. I know you wanna seem all mysterious and powerful to everyone here, _especially_ to Deku, but you're not some big wolf that's lurking in the trees being all creepy. You're a tiny rabid dog that just wants to make friends."

"Thanks." Danny frowned. "I guess."

Bakugou pulled his mouth into a devilish grin and walked towards the window, hands casually on his hips as he went. "What can I say. I'm the best. Now, let's go beat some ass!" The glass pane shattered easily when Bakugou's gloved hand made contact, shards flying over the broken-up roads below. Bakugou jumped out without looking back, tiny explosions slowing his movement towards the ground.

Danny had picked himself up from his spot on the floor and rubbed at his face. "You know how dangerous that is when you don't warn people! Someone could get hurt!"

"Everybody's knocked out because I kick ass! Let's go!"

 _'I kicked ass too, thanks very much,'_ Danny thought as he jumped. He felt his core sigh in relief at finally letting go of some pent-up energy and had to fight it from making him glow. He did _not_ need to expose another secret right now. A cloud of dust formed around his feet as he landed and Bakugou merely raised an eyebrow. "I don't need to warn _you_."

"I thought you _cared_ about me."

The pout finished the look.

Danny pushed his shoulder away with a smile and started walking. "Try to keep up, slowpoke!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Danny and Bakugou bonding? Yes, but not after beating each other up, of course!
> 
> I'm about to enter a dangerous zone of exams and deadlines so this might be the last update in a hot second. I hope the Bakugou content makes up for it :)  
> Thank you all so much for 20k hits and all the support!


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